Keeping it Real—Happy Father’s Day
June 14, 2017
Posted By: Shaunescy
WRITTEN BY BLAIR FJESETH
Last night I watched as my husband and oldest son pretended our couch was a boat surrounded by bloodthirsty sharks. For over 45 minutes they threw cushions at the attacking sharks, swam to different islands for safety, and rescued one another from the high seas. Forty. Five. Minutes. I can’t even get my kids to color with me for 15 minutes, let alone a 45-minute imaginary expedition.
The way my husband can transform the most mundane task into an adventure that our kids rave about for days baffles me. The way he evaporates negativity and recycles it into opportunity is profoundly astonishing and, if I’m being honest, it’s at times annoying. I’ll never be as good with them in this way as he is.
He is the malleable force that ebbs and flows with the rest of our crazy family and hectic life.
He’s is the fixer of all things: scraped knees, disappointments and heartaches. He is the glue that pieces us back together, time after time.
He’s the dad who buckles our boys into their car seats, gives them each a kiss and waves goodbye from the front stoop only to run after the car as it backs out of the drive just to give them one more fist bump and pep-phrase before we embark on the day.
He’s the man whose body is comfort when one of our boys is up all night sick, the body they tackle at every opportunity, the back they ride on like he was a prized bronc. He is everything to each of us. It’s a lot of pressure I am sure, but he handles it flawlessly.
He’s the guy who lets the kids stay up a little later because the fortress they built out of chairs, sheets and headlamps is way too cool to leave just yet.
He is the dad they tell their friends about, the kind who plays superheroes, lets them help use the drill on mom’s house projects, lets them sit on his lap while driving the off-the-beatenpath ranching roads.
He is the man who will teach our sons what it means to be a friend, dad and an equal partner to whomever our boys choose to love.
Happy Father’s Day to all of the amazing Montana dads. Thank you for the indelible steadfastness you provide, and for being a beaconin our kids' lives.
Blair Fjeseth is a working professional and proud Montana mom.
Follow her on her blog Whydoourkidshateus.com or on Instagram @blair_mt
