what i know about being a husband and father.

clearly, i'm not a husband or a father. but i surely know a lot about being one, thanks to dad, brian, and my father-in-law, larry.

growing up, my dad was my life. this is nothing new for those reading this post. but my dad was huge. he was such a gigantic force in my life. when i was little, my dad was the best playmate. i remember playing hide and go seek every night before bed with dad and megan. i was so proud of myself when i found a killer hiding spot and it took dad forever to find me. we spent many summer nights playing wiffle ball in the back yard, shooting hoops, and going for walks.

my dad was the provider for our family. he worked hard every day to give us a good life. we were not living the the lap of luxury, but we had what we needed and then some. we had a great home, nice clothes, food, and lots and lots of love. dad prayed with meg and i every night. he taught us to memorize scripture and read god's word daily. he taught us to live life to the fullest, to love hard, to be loyal, and to stand up for what is right.

dad was a great husband. he loved my mom with his whole being. as a kid, i was so grossed out when i saw them kiss. but aside from the grossness, i found great comfort in knowing that my parents were in love.  there are a few things i remember vividly about my dad's final days. one was how evident it was that he loved and needed my mom. there were times when he didn't want her to leave his room. she'd rub his head and he'd say "don't stop." she'd put her cheek against his and he'd say "that feels so warm." he wanted to kiss her every other minute. and even as he took his last few breaths his hand stayed planted on my mom's wrist. it was amazing.

then there's my father-in-law, larry. obviously i don't have any childhood memories of him, but i have known him since i was 15 or 16. he's the best. he is the hardest working, committed, most servant like man i have ever met. he would literally do anything for anyone. since brian and i got married, we've had several moves, deliveries, and home projects and have needed larry's strength and talent. i cannot think of a single time that we've called him that he has not shown up right away with a smile on his face.

larry also has an amazing work ethic that he passed on to both kate and brian. he has a huge and sensitive heart. larry visited dad in boston one weekend. dad went on and on about how much it meant to him. the last two weekends of dad's life he mentioned several times what a great man larry was. while crying dad would say to brian "larry is such a great man, i love him so much." it was the cutest thing.

and then there's brian. wow, what a guy. i mean, they don't make 'em like him anymore. he's such a genuine, big hearted, sensitive, caring person. he works so hard to take care of and provide for his family, its really amazing. brian is the best husband. he's so thoughtful. he's my best friend in the whole world. we've been through so much over our twelve years of knowing each other and it just gets better and better. parenting has certainly been our most interesting, draining, and entertaining experience yet.

watching brian become a dad has been awesome. i remember when jude was born...brian was such a natural! i was honestly in shock. i don't think he had even held a baby before, but you never would have known it. brian and jude have grown to be the best of friends. jude adores brian so much and tries to copy everything he does. brian takes such pride in jude and in being his dad. brian's number one goal is to raise his children to live for jesus. i'm so thankful for that.

dad, larry, and brian have all been amazing examples of what it really means to be a husband and a father. i'm so glad that jude has these men to look up to and learn from. hopefully one day he will have a family of his own and they will feel the same way about him.