What I hope our kids learn #FathersDay #ThankYou

Being Father's Day and all, I thought I'd share with you a few things that I hope our two kids learn from their amazing Dad. Let me preface this list with the fact that I am entirely biased. My husband is not just a supportive, kind husband that is really good at doing dishes, he is also an incredibly patient and intuitive father to our two kids.

Patience with Quiet Persistence

My husband has just the right mix of patience and persistence. He knows that time will pass and days will come that are simpler. Not shy to explain that he is looking forward to simpler days, he just continues on the way the end "dream" or goal. The quiet persistence is something I need to work on. I tend to let everyone know that we are headed in a direction. I share the goal. The steps to the goal. I write the goal on the board. I write the steps to achieve the goal on the board.  Tom just keeps heading forward with the goal in mind. I want our kids to learn to be quietly persistent like that. 

Laughing for No Reason

Tom's sense of humor has taken me close to a dozen years to almost get all of his jokes. He can find humor in situations that build camaraderie with his peers and memories with his family. I admire how he makes us laugh and not at the expense of somebody else's character or image, but just a good humored laugh. Oh, and the television shows he watches. I didn't know that The Big Bang Theory  could be any funnier; then, I watched it with him. That deep, hand to forehead laughter is just priceless. I want our kids to learn to laugh like that. 

Calmness

No matter the situation, Tom can keep calm. I attribute much of this to his over two decades working as a correctional officer during all shifts. He never knew what was going to come in and he needed to be calm. He needed to be prepared for any situation. He also has the innate ability to understand that it is certainly not about what he brings to the table some days. It is more about how he reacts to what the others bring. I want our kids to have the calm in the storm attitude that their Dad does. 

Dishes Love

Now, this is just as much about me as it is my husband, because I hate doing the dishes. I don't mind sweeping or mopping, doing laundry, mowing the lawn or any of those other household chores, but I really dislike dishes. I can't blame it on my mother. I can't blame it on anyone. I just don't like them. And, my husband knows it. So, he does the dishes. Does he do it because they need to be done? Probably. Does he do it because he enjoys it? Most certainly not. But, I like to think, that he does them because he knows how much I don't like doing them. I have yet to load the dishwasher in the house and I have never sorted the dishes to put them away. I want our kids to know how to love to do the dishes. Not because they have to, but because their spouse doesn't. 

Some lessons you cannot learn in a book or in a classroom. These lessons can only be learned from a role model like my husband. Not everyone has that father figure at home, so I am definitely thankful that my kids do. Happy Fathers Day to all!