CKZCJ

Providers, Heros, Role Models, Play Mates, Friends, Dads. When you think about that title really encompasses a lot, or at least it should. I know that I still feel pretty darn safe when my dad’s around, he can take care of anything. I’m secure knowing he’ll protect me if anything bad happens to happen. Just like my boys feel safe with their daddy. To quote Z “everything’s just better with dad. He’s like the best man I ever met.” So this post is to honor all the dad’s I know and a few who are pretty special.

Clearly you can see that these boys love their daddy. So much that they both pooled their allowance to buy him a lifetime membership to an online game that they play so that he can play with them. It’s mostly the thought that counts.

My dad, who is also mostly known now as Grandpa or Pa. One of my favorite things in the world to do – go fishing with my dad. Don’t think he ever missed a single athletic competition of mine ever. From junior high to high school.

My Popa, my boys great-grandpa, and my dad’s dad. The one who slid down water slides with me as a child during our summer vacations to Port Aransas. I am still making fond memories with my Popa. Love him so much!

My mom’s dad. Raised and supported ten kids. I think by the time he got to us grand kids it was just time to spoil us. He always took us to play video games and eat pizza as soon as we would arrive.  A highly devoted man to both his family and his church. I only wish he would’ve told us more of his childhood. Miss him so much.

My two brothers. Oh how cute they were back then. They aren’t anymore. Not really. But their little babies are. One boy and one girl with another girl on the way. My youngest brother got the little boy everyone who ever knew him wanted him to have. One little cute stinker, just like him. And my other brother (the one who suffers from middle child syndrome) has a beautiful little girl with another girl on the way. He is so doomed, I told him to just hand over his man card.

So for all the dads out there and all the men who stepped up to be a daddy, keep it up. These little people really look up to you.

He goes by many names but to me it’s dad. Today is his birthday. I’m sure he could care less if I told you how old he was but I won’t. He’s a nice even number this year and was just shy of 26 years old when I was born. He lives “Give a man a fish; you have fed him for today.  Teach a man to fish; and you have fed him for a lifetime” and made sure to pass it on to all of us. I remember thinking if the world did get all messed up we’d be okay because we could feed ourselves, or if the world flooded we had a boat to float in. I had a wandering mind even as a child. The one time the boat almost sank because someone forgot to put the plugs in I knew things would be okay because my dad was there and he could fix it. Turns out HE was the one who forgot the plugs and I didn’t panic too much because it was only 3 feet deep…. After that he bought a boat that didn’t need plugs….

My dad taught me to make friends with strangers, not to be afraid to try new things, to help everyone even if it’s not exactly convenient for you, and to work hard then play hard. I try each day to pass along the important things that he has taught me to my boys. Yes, even how to hold the football right or how to hook their bait (girls can do that stuff too). I know that sometimes he secretly watches episodes of Spongebob on his phone. Maybe it makes him think of his grandkids but I think he finds it so stupid it’s funny. He can sit and look up at the stars for hours, mix a mean Bloody Mary (too much *sneeze* pepper), and cook a mean rack of ribs. When I was in high school he never missed a single sporting event (as to which I am sure he did a lot of speeding to catch up with the bus sometimes) and was my biggest supporter. I never thought then that as I got older we’d become such good friends. Buddies who like to hang out together, but he will always be my daddy. Happy Birthday Easy Dad!

Well it was both actually. You would think after having 25+ hours of labor I’d give myself a few years to recuperate before I gave it another go. Oh no, not me, I’m a glutton for punishment. So by some great coincidence my second son was born on the same exact day that my first son was, one year later. From the beginning they were not sure about how they felt about one another…

Oh I am sure that they love each other, in fact I’ve heard them tell each other so. They’ve also beat the tar out of each other from time to time. A staff member from their school told me the other day that Z walks his brother to his classroom, gives him a hug and makes sure he puts his back pack away then walks to his own class afterward. So sweet. I spent the day going through pictures of when they were little and oh how they’ve grown. I wish I could make them stop growing, except for the part about being able to wipe their own butts. I really like them being big enough to take care of that themselves. It’s a big milestone here in our house. Moving on.

I didn’t plan well in order for the boys to have a party with their classmates so we started their birthday week with a trip to the Aquarium in Corpus Christ (they had wanted to go in the summer while on our trip but it was a pricey place…). Then yesterday I made four dozen cupcakes some in the shape of a Clone Trooper and some with blue frosting and a white jelly bean on top for the boys to take to school and share with their classmates. Today we took the boys to dinner at their place of choice, the River Pub and Grill, and they opened their gifts there. We had promised to take them to drive go karts in New Braunfels but the place was closed today so that will happen this weekend after their first flag football game.

So guess what I did as soon as we got home??? I hope they had a great birthday, next thing I know they’ll have chest hair and be talking in a low tone like Pavarotti. Someone save me.

A letter in the mailbox from my Popa. I used to love to get them as a kid and my heart still skips a beat when I open my mailbox and see one in it today. He still uses the same letterhead he did 15 years ago.

I had a meeting yesterday for the boys school at our local Chick-fil-a (it was family night and school fundraiser night) so I loaded the boys up and headed into town. Big C worked a bit late and we ended up heading towards home about the same time. I got on the road home a few cars behind him and caught up to him right outside of town. CJ just happened to look up and see his dad’s jeep and blurted out “Hey, that’s our dad!!!” with a fair amount of excitement. That made me laugh and smile, and then smile some more.

These boys love their daddy (plain, simple and to the point). They ask for him to come into their room every night at bedtime, well except for one night last week when he had scared the begeezers out of them by quietly standing in the bathtub all Freddy the 13th like. They didn’t ask for him that night. Mostly because he thought scaring the pants of them was hilarious (a Revenge of the Nerds type of laugh hilarious), a view they obviously did not share. They sit on top next to of him on the couch when we watch tv as a family, follow him like attached little shadows when he wonders out to his shop, and basically think he’s the cooler one. That’s because he lets them try to stay up until midnight, or spend a Friday night playing video games, and takes them to see cool movies. Let’s be clear, I am apparently NOT cool, but their daddy is. He also drives a really cool jeep, and me, well I drive a Mini-Van. We could go on but I’ll spare myself.

Never has anyone looked better wearing the title of daddy, no one could be a better daddy to these two boys, and to quote Judy Garland “I’ve got my man who could ask for anything more?”

Those of you have seen “Man vs. Wild” know what I’m talking about. If you have a husband who watches “Man vs. Wild” you have undoubtedly seen him do something to mimic a move of Bear Grylls and wondered what brain synapse misfired to cause your husband to do something like that. I mean does a grown man really need to risk the family jewels like this?

And that, that’s tame for Mr. Bear. I’m afraid to let my boys watch his show, next thing I know they’ll be rounding up the scorpions and cooking them in a frying pan for extra “protein”. Speaking of scorpions, I found a baby one, alive and kicking in the kitchen yesterday just inches away from my barefoot and promptly trapped it in a 1/2 cup measuring cup. I asked my husband to please kill it and take care of it, yet again (note I say again here) he felt the need to “play” with. He shook it up and really ticked it off, “We used to pinch off the tail stinger then drop them on people to scare them as kids”. If he ever does that to me he’ll be pushing up daises. Then he says something like he feels the need to be macho like Bear. Huh? “Yeah when I was 20 I did stuff like that all the time (ie. showing off), but then in my 30′s I didn’t need to do that anymore. Now that I’m a dad and I have two boys I feel the need to be cool again and show them that kind of stuff”. Okay, so I’m summarizing but that was pretty much the gist of that conversation. And he wonders why I have dreams of being attacked by scorpions or snakes taking over our house. He’s like a twisted version of Dr. DoLittle and he’s not allowed to watch anymore “Man vs. Wild”…..