Twenty-One and Father’s Day

Twenty-one and Father’s Day are the two big milestones we’re celebrating today. Of course, I’m also celebrating the fact that 21 years ago I was blessed to become a mother. Motherhood is an extraordinary gift, but being a mom to Jake goes beyond any earthly blessing I’ve ever received. When he was born, we were kids ourselves. He’s been our ride and die from day one. How lucky are we? Now he’s grown up and carving out an amazing future for himself in the military. Sadly, we’re not able to be with him today due to COVID19, but we’re together in spirit. Jake had wanted to share his first legal beer in the US with his dad, but the timing was a bit off. Fortunately, Jake was able to drink a beer with his dad while we were in Norway.

For twenty-one years Jake has been the center of our universe. I remember the day he arrived as if it was yesterday. My doctor was on vacation during the 38th week of my pregnancy. She made me promise that I would not go into labor until after 5:00 pm on June 20th. Fortunately, Jake and I were very compliant patients and my water broke at 1:10 am on the 21st. I figured that I’d end up needed a c-section like my mom, so you can imagine my surprise when he was born later that morning. From the minute he arrived, he was so sweet and loving. I was lucky that he was my first baby because he was so easy. Actually, his brothers are lucky that he was such an easy baby. If he had been like them as a baby, Jake may have ended up being an only child.

Jake’s First Day of Kindergarten
Last hug before Jake left for BMT

Jake changed our whole family’s world in ways that we never could have anticipated. You always have a certain perspective of your parents and then you become a parent and that perspective changes. Then you get to see them as grandparents, which is an awesome role. Jake was blessed with six grandparents, five great grandparents, and a great great grandmother when he was born. He was also blessed with aunts and uncles that have played a pivotal role in his life. In fact, they still play a pivotal role in his life. He was also blessed to spend a lot of time with his Great Grandma T as she babysat him while I was in school. To this day, they remain thick as thieves. Their relationship is a special gift.

My Parents’ Birthday greeting for Jake

Naturally, we were sad we couldn’t be there to celebrate his golden birthday with him. I assure you, however, that we’ll celebrate his birthday and his accomplishments when we see him again. When will that be you ask, I don’t know. He’s still in tech school and from there will move on to his base. Due to COVID, there are some regulations on the troops’ movements, so we’re playing it by ear. It’s a bit insane. Fortunately, my time as a hockey mom has prepared me well for my role as a military mom. I’m sure once he’s operational and traveling, my iteration of military mom will be quite similar to me as a goalie mom. If I had to guess, there will be some high anxiety and stressful moments. Nonetheless, I can’t wait to see him. It’s been great to see his awakening and call to a higher purpose.

While he was busy being awesome in the Air Force, my hubby was spending his Father’s Day working. Since he was working, the boys and I hung out around home with the puppies. I changed my routine a bit, so I went to yoga yesterday instead of today. Consequently, I ran today instead of running yesterday, which gave me an additional day of rest. Naturally, I watched Curb throughout the workout. Fortunately, it was my favorite Curb episode where he accidentally puts the condom on backwards. It is absolutely ridiculously funny. Thankfully, the extra day of rest minimized pain in the foot and maximized my performance. The fun when really well. Originally, I had hoped to run outside this weekend, but with a dew point at 80 that wasn’t going to happen.

After the run, we cleaned up a bit and made sure we had beer and steaks ready for dinner. I made roasted purple onions and potato wedges to go along with homemade cheeseburgers. This was another Blue Apron meal kit dinner and it was awesome. The recipe was easy to follow and mighty tasty. While I worked on the burgers, the hubby fired up the grill for the steaks I had bought. This was the easiest way to ensure that the hubby and Goalielocks would have enough red meat to leave them satiated. Meanwhile, the Mayor continues to be picking and unwilling to try new foods. Goalielocks and the Mayor have undergone a complete role reversal on this issue. Just when my picky eater starts to be an adventurous eater, my adventurous eater decides to be a picky eater. I can’t win to lose.

Here’s a list of our day’s activities:

*The Life of Charlotte Bronte by Elizabeth Gaskells

*Morning and afternoon meditation

*Gentle Flow with Jenn at Open Heart Yoga

*Thought of ways to incorporate the word cove into my blog.

*Took obligatory picture of Anakin!

*Watched a ripple in a puddle

*Obedience training Anakin

*Week 5 BBG 2.0 day 7 run!!!

*Took Anakin, Maya and Athena out for a walk

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Happy Father’s Day!!!

“One father is more than a one hundred schoolmasters.”  This quote from George Herbert, 17th century English poet and orator perfectly sums up the role and the importance of fathers in our children’s lives.  In modern society, we place (with good reason) a lot of emphasis on the importance of motherhood while not always paying much attention to the role a strong father plays.

 

My brothers and I were fortunate to have grown up with a father who was always here for us and instrumental in our lives.  He shared with us his love of music, military history, aviation and Dr. Who.   Give my parents a call today and you may hear his music blaring in the background.

When my mom was working second shift, I learned to cook by helping him make dinner on those days.  I cherish those memories.  My dad has always treated my mom as an equal and has always supported her, her goals and her career.  My dad’s love for my mom and for us kids was always on display.  To this day, my dad still carries the pink comb I gave him when I was in preschool.

grandpatomandgrandkids

Now that we are older and have kids of our own, our kids get to call him Grandpa.  My oldest brother and I both have kids, who absolutely adore him.  What’s even better is that my kids have a father, who is exceptional.  My hubby is an amazing dad, who is devoted to me and our kids.  He’s volunteered as a coach on their hockey teams since they started in 2010.  Some seasons he’s been on the roster of all three of their travel teams, which is a huge investment of time.

 

He’s taken the time to show them how to fish, how to build and how to be men.  When I work late, he cooks amazing dinners, helps with the homework and takes them to hockey practice.  Our life runs at a crazy pace and without a true partnership, we’d never be able to manage our life successfully. My boys are blessed to call him dad and blessed to have three grandpas, who love them unconditionally.  They are lucky to have so many positive male role models in their lives.

Time to pop a bottle and celebrate all of the dads in our lives.  To all the fathers out gthere, who day in and day out work tirelessly to support their family, happy father’s day!

Fathers-Day-Quotes-from-Son