Happy Father's Day!

I remember when Marei and I were dating.  We were watching Maioha and Jacqueline (nieces on Marei's side), and Jacqueline asked, "Uncle Marei, can you paint my nails?"  And I remember watching, as he awkwardly went about painting her nails, so gingerly, carefully.  Jacqueline was grinning ear-to-ear.  He did it with so much care, with no hesitation.  I snapped a picture of that moment, and have looked at it often over the years. That was one of many significant moments when I got an inkling of the kind of dad Marei was going to be.  Over the course of the last 2 1/2 years of being parents together, Marei has met and exceeded my every expectation of the kind of father he'd be to our children.  I will try, albeit inadequately, to explain to my husband why he is such an incredible dad.

- You see parenting as our job - not as my job that you help me with.

- From the day Jaya was born, you have dived right into fatherhood with the passion and zeal you show for everything you love.

- You are so humble - I will never forget the times I have seen you kneel down to be on Jaya's level and ask for her forgiveness for losing your patience, as we all do.

- You are so gentle and loving and kind.

- You make them laugh every day.

- You don't ever leave them to cry.

- You kiss and cuddle and hug them constantly.

- You do whatever it takes to comfort them - sleeping in a chair all night so Jaya can sleep with a stuffy nose, or pacing the floor with Raja so he can deal with teething.

-  You honor your priesthood - you have given them, and me, blessings in times of need.

- You helped me to bring them into this world - you make my labor and delivery experiences so much better than they would have been without you.

- You cared for me so well after each birth.

- You never get grossed out by kid stuff, or labor/delivery stuff.

- Even though you and I may disagree about little things, with parenting, we always present a united front.

- You are so understanding of my motherly worry/concern/ paranoia, even if you don't worry as much.

- You're so understanding of it that you have driven me to the gym and sat in a parking lot with a nursing baby so I could work out in peace, multiple times.

-You've been in charge of bedtime and bath for Jaya for most of her life.

- You change a lot more diapers than I do when we are both with the kids.

- You are so encouraging of me taking time for myself.  And you make it so I actually can.

- Jaya loves you so much - the day that she first woke in the middle of the night and asked for you made me feel so lucky that my daughter has such a special relationship with her dad.

- You praise and encourage them.

- You always think of their likes and dislikes, and look for ways to make them happier and more comfortable.  You do the same for me.

- You have often expressed how important it is to you to always be involved in their lives, to always be there for them to talk to and rely on.

- You are the fun, cool dad - the one who their friends will love to go see and hang out with.  The one who is willing to play and be silly and fun.

- You support child led weaning and extended breastfeeding, and even advocate them.

- You will read the same book and play the same games over and over again. 

- I love to see the joy on your face when you open your eyes in the morning and the first thing you see is our babies.

- You read to them.

- You sing to them.

- You're good at cleaning and laundry and all the things that multiply after having kids.

- You have made so many sacrifices for them to have what they should - from working long hours and commuting long distances, to giving up your freedoms, to staying home with them even though that is harder than working, and more.

- You teach them new things every day.

- You teach them by example.  They can see in you charity, love, kindness, integrity, humility, a love of the gospel....I hope that they learn and grow to be just like you.  I love you.

Happy Father's day to all you dads out there!