This Is For The Dads Who Show Up

This is for the Dads who leave the warmth of the covers at night, even just to change a diaper or whisper soft words of reassurance.

They show up.

This is for the Dads whose hearts break a tiny bit when their littles want Mama instead, but never let on.

They show up.

This is for the Dads who come home spent and exhausted from work, but still get down on the floor and play.

They show up.

This is for the Dads who would rather be watching the game, but spend it watching a ballet recital instead.

They show up.

This is for the Dads who pray for their lives when their teens hit the gas too hard, but keep going with the lesson anyway.

They show up.

This is for the Dads who get mad as heck when curfew is broken, but still make that bleary-eyed drive in the middle of the night.

They show up.

This is for the Dads who stand quietly in the back of the room at the big events, but soak up every memory.

They show up.

This is for the Dads who don’t always have the right words, but let a bear hug speak a thousand of them.

They show up.

This is for the Dads who get it wrong sometimes.

The Dads who don’t have a clue how to to fix it.

The Dads who can’t make it better . . .

But they try their darndest anyway.

Because this is for the ones who show up.

And children won’t remember that you were scared at their births, a little jealous of Mom, that you came home spent, that you would have rather been watching the game, that you prayed for your life while teaching them to drive, that you stood in the back, that you didn’t always say the right thing, that you couldn’t figure out how to fix it, and that sometimes you got it wrong.

All they’ll remember is that you loved them.

That you tried.

And that you always showed up.”