Ode to my babydaddy.

Father's Day: The 3rd Sunday in June when American fathers expect to be granted an undisturbed afternoon nap and try not to be too disappointed when it doesn't happen.

The professor of the course I am currently taking makes us write Top 10 lists (a la David Letterman) each week as assignments, so I'm kind of in a Top 10 frame of mind. So~the following list is the top 10 reasons I am glad that Aaron Beck is my children's father. I will try not to make you gag with gushy remarks. *Drumroll please*

10. My egg and his sperm are compatible and work together to make the cutest children ever.

9. He is a teacher, thus providing free childcare for 1/4 of the year. This saves us approximately $3000 annually.

8. He is far more level-headed than I am and keeps me sane when both children are having meltdowns.

7. Something in his genes gives him the ability to scare the bejeebers out of our misbehaving 2 year old by whispering very quietly that he "does not appreciate you ignoring Mama when she tells you to do something."

6. In his quest to lose weight, Aaron takes the babies on daily walks. This allows me the 30 minutes to shower, eat, or blog. They are on a walk right now. So, obviously I am spending my time NOT showering today.

5. He lets me think that he doesn't mind the days that I don't shower.

4. Please refer to entry titled "Looking at myself through a glass half full." Scroll down to the childhood picture of me- the one with where I have a mullet and dark circles under my eyes. I still look like that in the morning...and in the afternoons on the days that I don't shower. But he still sticks around. Maybe because he is scared to leave his children with a lady who looks like that.

3. It is no secret that Aaron loves his naps, yet he has managed to stay in a reasonably chipper mood despite the fact that he only gets maybe 2-3 a month these days.

2. The one place in the house that Aaron considered his safe haven, the bathroom, has been compromised. Since we have entered potty-training, he now has the discomfort of relieving himself in front of a 36" spectator. He hasn't complained too much...yet.

And the #1 reason I am happy that Aaron is my babydaddy: He is a fabulous, loving, cooking, and hilarious man & father. (Okay, sorry- I know that one may have resulted in a little gagging.)

And please allow me one more moment of your time so that I can recognize my own father, Daniel Hal Meek, the man who blessed me with the genetic tendency to experience nose bleeds and fever blisters. And, as if those weren't enough, he also taught me many valuable skills. Because of him, I appreciate dry, sarcastic humor, I have the ability to throw a softball a decent distance, and I can check my oil and tire pressure with the best of 'em. Happy Father's Day to the guy who supplied the Bubble Yum bubblegum for my childhood addiction, the one and only Dan-o.