The good kind

This CNN opinion piece made the rounds on Facebook last week. In a nutshell, the author's goal is to encourage uninvolved fathers to rethink their role in their children's lives. His primary target is the dad who works during the week, plays golf on the weekends, and seldom takes an active role in parenting. As the world's grown-ups have often noted, kids grow up very fast and before you know it, your offspring is off at college or perhaps living with an unemployed tattoo artist named Smudge in a one-bedroom apartment in a bad part of town.

I am happy to report that my husband is not an inattentive father. Yes, he spends too much time playing games on the PS3, watching "Farscape" on Netflix streaming (remind me to tell you sometime just how much I hate that show), and reading comic books.  But, he does spend a lot of time with his daughter. He helps her with the zippers on her dress-up clothes. He carries her when she wants to be carried. He takes her to the park and pushes her on the swing. He works a second job so that we can afford to, you know, eat. He's a good dad.

Yesterday, we went to a music festival and he spent the afternoon carrying around a glitter-encrusted star wand that our daughter made at one of the kids' activity tents. Keep in mind that P is a former Marine and is about 6'3".  The glue was still wet so he couldn't shove it in his pocket or anything. Then he carried the paper plate tambourine she made right after she completed the glitter wand. Last night we went to a concert held at our neighborhood park. It was P who chased our daughter into the leafy playground with bug spray to make sure she didn't get eaten alive. He drew the line at attending a Faerie Festival with A and I yesterday morning (I don't know why he didn't want to hang out with a couple hundred little girls wearing wings and sprinkled with glitter), but he is game for just about anything else.

Happy Father's Day to my other half. You're a good egg.  We love you!