A Love Letter to My Husband on Father’s Day

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A Love Letter to My Husband on Father's Day (1)

Dear Husband:

(See how respectful of your privacy I am? I’m not even using your name!)

It’s Father’s Day soon, and the Facebook etherwaves will be full of treacly yet sincere posts from wives and partners dedicated to their husbands and partners. I’ve rarely had the cojones to create such posts about you because, well, you’re a private person and I don’t like to embarrass you. But hey, now that I have an entire blog post at my disposal, all bets are off! Let the saccharine superlatives commence!

So, what is it that makes you a great dad? Well, your own parents for one (hi M&M!). They brought you up in a calm, secure, very loving household, helping to forge those same qualities in your character as a man and as a father. They worked hard and lived simply, yet supported you in your desire to make a life on the other side of the Atlantic. I’m forever grateful to them for raising the man I hoped I would marry as soon as we met (oh shoot, I’m freaking you out now), and I’m so lucky to have them as our kids’ grandparents.

Ok, so on to you now. You are a great dad because:

-You love our family more than anything in the world and value spending time with us far above other pursuits.

-Because you work extremely hard all day to provide us with a nice life and then come home and work extremely hard helping me get the kids into bed and the household closed down for the night.

-Because you are the best bedtime story reader ever and are never too self-conscious to do silly voices.

-Because you cook us fantastic meals on the weekends, even if the kids don’t yet appreciate it.

-Because you traded in your beloved sporty car so that I could get the minivan I’d been dreaming of (seriously, I really wanted a van).

-Because I know the stress of being the sole breadwinner is immense, yet you are always quick to reassure me of the importance of my current SAHM gig when I worry.

-Because you acquiesce to the requests to play the Frozen soundtrack on repeat in the car, yet have managed to instill in the kids an appreciation for classic rock.

-Because you do the taxes and know where everyone’s birth certificates and passports are.

-Because you are willing to jump on the trampoline and pretend to be a giant.

-Because you kiss and hug me in the kitchen even though the kids yell “gross, no kissing!”

-Because you somehow manage not to go insane as the only introvert in a family of crazy extroverts.

-Because you put those little stickers on the calendar to remind us to give the dogs their flea and heartworm medicine.

-Because our daughter excitedly asks every Friday night if it’s the weekend since it means two whole days with you.

-Because you get up with the kids every weekend to let me sleep in (well, ok your strict 9:30 p.m. bedtime helps with that a little).

-Because you make me coffee every morning before you leave for work so that I can better face a day of full-on child wrangling.

-Because you are generous with the “I loves yous” and the hugs, and I know what a huge impact that will have on the kids as they mature and someday become loving parents themselves.

-Because you are kind and patient with everyone.

-Because you are also a great husband, and that’s important for the kids to see too.

So, husband, has reading this (and knowing lots of other people will) made you squirm? I do apologize, but seeing as we don’t always have time to gaze lovingly into each other’s eyes and recite poetry in this whirlwind stage of life, I wanted to let you, as well as all the other great dads out there, know how very much you are loved and appreciated. Happy Father’s Day!

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Erin
Erin grew up in San Antonio, Texas, and prior to her arrival in Columbus ten years ago, had seen snow only once in her life (when she was five years old). Due to this early lack-of-snow trauma, she has become a compulsive coat and jacket hoarder. Or maybe she's just a real Midwesterner now. Erin has a career past in PR, Marketing and Communications and is currently a stay-at-home mom to a Kindergartner girl and preschooler boy. She has dreams of freelancing now that both kids are out of diapers. She also has dreams of buying a sheep farm in Nova Scotia, but the former is much more likely. Erin's husband is from Derbyshire in England. He has never read Pride and Prejudice, but possibly saw one of the movie versions in school. Erin and her family enjoy not taking long road trips (Driving to Florida? Really?!), entertaining friends at home, and ordering everything through Amazon Prime. As an individual, Erin enjoys walking, listening to WCBE but never pledging (actually she did pledge once and knows she should do it again and promises she will next year), and spending too much time on Facebook. She and her family live in Westerville. You can contact her at [email protected].