Dad's Day Out

Yesterday was Father's Day. My own father is in Hawaii, so I made sure to call him to wish him well. Not as if he needs it, he's hanging out in Hawaii drinking a Mai-Tai but still, it's the thought that counts right? Previously this would have meant that my Father's Day was to consist of making balloon animals for people and then finding something to fill my evening. This year was different.

As a now pseudo-step-father to two fantastic kids I was awoken to breakfast made by my 11 year old daughter. Our journey to a
father-daughter relationship has been a tough one. It's been fraught with doubt and resistance and the occasional slammed door but several years later I am pleased to say that my breakfast was made of love and contained no trace of malice. We've grown close and I love her dearly. She's managed to find the limits of my patience in a way that no one ever had before and simultaneously helped me find the ways to love her all the more for it.

The remainder of my day was not filled with solitary thought or pointless dallying, but with "dad stuff" as they called it. We went to the movies, watched The Hulk, which I and my 12 year old son enjoyed immensely. I was treated to a Japanese steak house where I ate delicious sushi and enjoyed hibachi grill magic. Ice cream and friends, video games a a little bit of construction rounded out my evening. The late hours were spent playing Rock Band and watching films till the early hours of the morning.

I'm a father. We've been forming a family for a few years now, but it wasn't really till yesterday that I knew how much they have accepted me. It is a great feeling.