"uncle daddy"

When my niece and nephew, Gaetz and Kanzis, were young they used to get confused about Dan's name because it is so close to Dad. I remember teasing one of them because I heard "Uncle Daddy" slip out instead of "Uncle Danny". I'm not sure why that came to mind when I sit here and think about Dads. We had some excellent talks on Dad's and Fatherhood in church today and I was sad that Dan had to miss it (only 3 more shifts at Superstore!).

This morning Dan got the Salmon rendition of "I'm so glad when Daddy comes home", school-made cards and some trail mix (compliments of Ty's kindergarten teacher). When he came home for lunch we gave him the pop that I had bought for him and before he left he whispered to me "what about the stuff hiding under the kids bed?".... I had forgotten the Pez (uh, I'm not ready to admit that he is an avid Pez collector... don't ask him about it... you'll be stuck for hours!) that we had gotten him months ago that he apparently found. Sometimes I feel the pressure that I need to be doing something to make Dan have a good Father's Day (like slaving over the turtle cheesecake I'm about to make for him) when in truth it is the kid's turn. He is their Dad and they love him enough to show him... it is no fluke that Dan gets all of our babies first smiles and that by 6 months both Chelsey and Paige could say "hi, Dad" clear as day.

So on a day dedicated to Dad's, I thank my step-dad for being a real dad to me. He is automatically who I think of when I think "my dad". I thank Mel for being an awesome example to me and especially to Dan... (we didn't give Ty your name just because it sounded nice!!) And of course, I thank Dan. He is my strength when I am weak. Period.