Refreshing

I love to look at my blog and see pictures again...it was so upsetting for my phone (camera) to be broken for so long, I'm glad it's back, (I love you phone!). I'm very happy today because I'm marrying someone who is a great father figure and who I will be proud to have kids with someday, and Father's Day is very meaningful today for that reason.

"Real" dads...are really great people who love, guide and care for their kids & family, (doesn't have much to do with donating sperm). I'll never forget for instance when I was 17...and I got CAUGHT. I was staying with family that was a little more distant in relation, but who I consider to be some of the closest family I have...and I lied. I told house 1 I'd be at house 2, house 2 I'd be at house 3, and house 3 I'd be at house 1...I thought I was being brilliant! Silly me...they communicated and were pretty quick to figure out what happened, and that I spent the night at some guys place. Instead of yelling at me or just sending me back to my parents...the father figure dealing with the situation pulled me aside so we could take a 'walk'. This was a new foreign concept to me, and a little scary! I didn't know if he was going to slap me, yell at me, or what. He sat me down at a little bench by some water, (pond? river? don't remember...), and he talked to me like a human being. He explained to me what my actions did to the family, he explained why it wasn't okay, what the consequences would be...and he talked about having more respect for myself. I'll never forget this exposure I had to this kind of parenting and I will always refer back to this/you as an example of the way that things should be.

To all the dad's that take the time to be a real part of their children's lives and to guide, advise and love them throughout their lives...Thank you. You are making society a better place than it was.