A different kind of Father’s Day

I won’t see my kids this Father’s Day. My two oldest are in California and Washington, D.C. My youngest has been away at the beach this past week and will be just getting home on Sunday, but I’m pretty sure he’ll be wiped out from his week away and am not counting on seeing much of him. 

It will be hard to celebrate without the three of them, but I’ll be thinking of them.

The cool thing about being a father now is knowing how things started and seeing where they are now, thinking about them as infants crawling on the floor and seeing them now, as adults, with their own hopes, dreams, and goals.

Someone mentioned the other day that the job of being a father must be pretty easy now. I had to laugh. I don’t see my kids the same amount, but in some ways, I feel the job is even tougher. 

No, I haven’t had to change a messy diaper in a long time. I haven’t had make a mad dash to the store for Desitin to help with a rash or for baby formula (I hear it’s hard to find now.) I haven’t even had to play taxi driver picking them up from one event or another. 

They may not live under the same roof as me, but I’m still their father and I still worry about them. In some ways, I worry about them more.

I worry about life getting in their way. I worry about accidents and natural disasters. I worry about their safefy. I know they’ll make good decisions. Heck, I’m going to them now for advice, so I know that’s not an issue.

So yea, the job of father has changed. I won’t get to see them this Father’s Day, but I’ll see them soon and I couldn’t be happier with the adults that they’ve become.