Before Faith, Rob couldn’t hold a small child without breaking into a sweat. He would lean way back as if the weight of the baby would topple him forward. Another child’s diaper — yeah, right. It didn’t exactly reassure me of his parenting skills, but I just hoped our daughter would bring out the daddy in him.
You know how they say it’s different when they’re your own. Well, it’s completely TRUE. The instant Faith was placed in his arms, fatherhood came naturally to my husband. There was no lean. Just a proud papa willing to change those baby meconium diapers. I distinctly recall him exclaiming, very loudly mind you, how bad one of them was as I attempted to order room service food over the phone at the hospital.
I was just thinking the other day, if it weren’t for her dad, Faith would never get to experience so many things in life. Such as:
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| the joy of Starbucks’ banana bread on Saturday morning Target runs |
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| the excitement of being held high on daddy’s shoulders or upside down, something mom is too nervous to try |
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| a love of music from an actual musician |
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| summers home with dad that make the first day of school that much harder on everybody |
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| the silly gene. some of faith’s best belly laughs have happened because of something her dad did. |
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| smooth nap/bed times. it was daddy who had the guts to put her to bed without rocking her to sleep so this could happen. |
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| adventure, dad style. we’d never know that faith could do half the things she can do on her own if rob wasn’t so great about letting her try. |
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| cubs baseball, or napping through cubs baseball |
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| if it weren’t for her dad, faith would never wear sweatpants with a sweater. |
And last but not least, if it weren’t for her Dad, Faith wouldn’t have her very own superhero.
Do you have a “if it weren’t for my Dad” memory? Do share. Mine is “if it weren’t for my Dad, I wouldn’t have the strong faith I have today.” I went on a brief church hiatus my freshman year of college, but it was my dad who came to town and took me to a church I would come to call home for the next four years: St. Thomas Aquinas. By far, my favorite church of all time that I still love to attend when we’re in town. Thanks, Dad. Love you.
