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Every Little Thing by April Jeppson

It’s Father’s Day weekend. In the past I’ve talked about my own father and the impact that he had in my life. In fact, I may have talked about him twice. What can I say? I have a great dad. Not only did he do research on top of my research to build me the best deck imaginable, he also stayed with us for a week to actually build the deck. I’m not exaggerating when I say that I have the most amazing deck and the most amazing dad.

But like I said before, that’s not who I’m talking about today. Today I’m focusing my attention on my husband, Brian. I have had the privilege of watching him grow into a father, which is a really cool thing to witness. When I met him, he was majoring in history and working at Taco Bell. He weighed 130 pounds wet and, according to our wedding photos, looked like he was 13. At 25 there was still so much of him that was just a child himself. Sure he paid rent and cooked his own food, but like me, he had some growing up to do.

Flash forward 15 years.

We are sleeping soundly in our beds and our youngest is having a bad dream. He sleepily tells her to crawl in next to him. He hugs her to sleep, and soon I’m listening to both of them snore. Or how about the Saturday that I had to work, and I come home to all four of them playing video games together. The shouting and laughter was so loud that I had to peek my head around the corner to see what they were doing that was so much fun.

I have watched my husband try to teach our children German. I’ve watched him lead Scripture study. I’ve watched him tell our kids that if they’re still hungry they can eat an apple (such a parent thing to say). I’ve listened to him give council and blessings to our children when they need it. I’ve even heard him scold a child because he felt that they were being rude towards my cooking efforts.

It’s fun to see him as a dad. How my kids love to snuggle with him and hear his funny stories. How they hug him before he heads off to work. It’s also fun seeing him grow into the head of our household. Learning the ins and outs of our sump pump and air conditioner. And most recently he used up an entire week of vacation to help my father put in that amazing deck that I previously mentioned.

Brian, I love you. Your children love you. You are exactly the kind of father that they needed. You are patient, kind, intelligent and fun. I hope that our son turns out like you and that our daughters marry someone that treats them as well as you treat me. Thank you for being such a good example to them and to me. We love you, and I hope you have a wonderful and relaxing Father’s Day.

Albert Lean April Jeppson is a wife, mom, coach and encourager of dreams. Her column appears every Saturday.