Fatherhood Matters

A friend of mine sent me an e-mail with a link to the cutest public service announcement video. The PSA was created by Fatherhood.gov, an organization that stresses the importance of fathers being a present, positive, and active force in their children's lives. Each time I watch the ad, I think about my husband and what a wonderful father he is. He always talks to me about Talan and how he is such a big blessing to us, and that's true, but I often have to remind him of what a big blessing he is to our son as well.

In my opinion, motherhood overshadows fatherhood greatly these days. I mean look at the fuss that is made over Mother's Day. The crowds, the cards, the gifts .... shouldn't motherhood itself be it's own reward? Then compare Mother's Day to Father's Day. Honestly, there isn't much of a comparison to do there. For my first Mother's Day, my husband made dinner, and we simply stayed in and enjoyed the company of each other and our son. I expressed to my husband at the end of that day that on Mother's Day in the future, all I wanted was to just spend with he and our child. He requested the same thing on Father's Day so that's what we did.

For me, it's very important to express to my husband how important he is not only to me, but as an influence in the life of our son. He doesn't realize the impact that he has on him. He sees the tickling, the wrestling, the laughs and giggles as just simply spending time with his son, but I think he often misses the fact that in doing these things, he is also molding Talan into the man that he will become. Yesterday I went out with a few girlfriends for a spa day and when I returned home, my two boys were on the couch in matching football jerseys watching football. Ted was even explaining to "Mr. T" the game. It's those moments that remind me of how blessed I am to have such a wonderful husband, and how proud I am of him as a father. Talan is a year old so he may not remember yesterday, but as this trend continues, one day when he is older he will look back and remember how his dad used to sit him down next to him and watch football and they would cheer and laugh and just enjoy it. I have made it my duty to try to express to my husband how even though he may not realize it, he is helping to mold a wonderful young man.

Here is the PSA that was sent to me. It is so cute, I love it! As I watch it, I find myself thinking about the bond that Ted will have with Aniela. He is already so excited about welcoming a little girl, and I can completely see him doing this with her in the future. Enjoy!