Dads, here’s to you.

It seems that there’s an abundance of articles and blog posts about motherhood- and rightfully so, because motherhood is hard. But what seems to really lack is any type of support validating dads. Just as a mother is born when she births this new baby, a father also is born. So dads, here’s to you. To the dad’s who chose and planned to be dads, the dads who didn’t have to be dads but were anyways, the dads who weren’t ready to become fathers but stepped up to the plate. Truth be told, we couldn’t do this whole motherhood gig quite as well without you.

I’m sure you can sometimes feel like you’re invisible. Like your works go unnoticed. Quite honestly, sometimes they do. And I’m sorry. I didn’t see you gather the dirty clothes scattered on the floor and put them into the hamper.  You did that so I wouldn’t have to. I didn’t notice you stop for gas on the way home from work so I wouldn’t have to get gas while running my errand this evening. I didn’t realize you put a fresh glass of water on the nightstand next to our bed because you know I get thirsty at night. You don’t even say when you do these things, you just do them without expecting anything in return. All because you love me. You know that when my work load is lighter, I can be a better mother.

Dads, you are trying to figure out this parenthood thing, just like mothers are. Each day is a new day that holds new learning curves, new challenges, new opportunity. Sometimes it’s easy to forget that you are a work in progress, just like mothers are, just like children are. And that’s okay. Even though it may seem like it sometimes, I don’t expect you to have this whole being-an-awesome-dad-and-husband-and-employee- and- friend (okay, you get the point) thing figured out.

Life gets hard. Raising children is hard. Every family’s dynamic is so different and unique, requiring different things from different people to make your family run smooth. Please know that even if I don’t notice your humble and loving deeds in the moment, that as a whole, I feel them.

Here’s to you for helping around the house.

Here’s to you for working on bettering yourself as a man, for our family.

Here’s to you for working countless hours so I can stay home with our children. (Or on the flip side, here’s to you for staying home with our children while I work outside the home.)

Here’s to you for all the owie’s you’ve kissed, bedtime books that you’ve read, prayers that have been prayed, snacks that you’ve dealt, hands that you held, and getting the blue ball instead of the red one because the red one will just NOT work for your toddler.

Here’s to you for all the love you selflessly pour into our family and asking nothing in return.

I love you.