Mr Brilliant is, above all, Mr Daddy.
My husband John has been a daddy for 19 years now. Here are just a few of the many reasons he is such a fantastic dad:
This is where it all began. Little Emma in strong arms. He protects and supports us.
When Maggie the miniscule dwarf rodent hamster died, he first took her to the emergency vet hospital because Emma was in such a panic (they diagnosed congestive heart failure, and I imagined them doing CPR with toothpick paddles), then he built a tiny coffin for her, and led a solemn procession of Emma's friends and their parents down our long front walk to deliver a moving eulogy for her in the backyard. He does not minimize their pain.
When the B-17s come to the local airport for their annual visit, he can always hear them coming, always runs like a madman out into the front yard, and always screams for Emma and Tess to come hear their approach. And always ALWAYS take Emma and Tess to see them on the tarmac. Some days, Tess even wears her wings and carries her own wooden plane for the tour. He is insatiably curious and loves to share that with them.
There is nothing he cannot figure out and put together. Even though he REFUSES to read directions. Both Emma and Tess turn to him for help with their homework "because he knows everything." (Evidently I am chopped liver). He is the one we all turn to for help.
He is the decorations and party man. Every birthday and special occasion, he decorates with dozens of balloons and so many streamers that walking in the dining room takes special care. He lines the stairs with candlelit cupcakes, all the way from Emma or Tess' bedroom to the dining room. He creates towers of pancakes with lit candles. Sometimes for birthdays, and sometimes for just being. If he hears of a new child at school whose birthday is going unnoticed, he'll take a party to them. He celebrates us all.
After a long day, he is the one who suggests we go to a big field and fly Tess' new plane, the one she got for her birthday. He plays.
He loves to laugh. And he makes us laugh. And he has passed on his propensity to make funny faces to both his daughters. There is no pride involved, no concern for how he looks in that moment of hilarity, just laughter.
He has the soul of an adventurer. Here we are in South Africa, a place we both love, at the Cape of Good Hope. He carries my bags, he drives around in a tiny car on the wrong side of the road to meet people, he goes with me into the Townships to experience the lives of extraordinary people in extraordinary circumstances. He is an adventurer and more than anything, he delights in taking us all on adventures, whether to the metal scrap yard or to the big park or far beyond.
He adores his children. He would do anything for them. Proud? I'd say so. (This is Emma in her 1st birthday sailor dress!)
He loves Patrick and Spongebob. Loves them. He and Tess talk about how positive Spongebob always is, and she tells him he reminds her of Patrick. He and Emma talk about art history, and she knew how much he would appreciate this tie she created for him last Father's Day, a Jackson Pollock paint-by-number tie. He shares and celebrates their passions.
For all that and so much more, my thanks, Johnny. You are a wonder, a love, a most amazing man.
Happy Father's Day, baby.
