Being Dad

I was in a rush when I woke up this morning.

I'm doing a remote for one of our stations today, right here in the development I call home. I've been doing remote broadcasts from here for the last five years, and somewhere along the way I convinced both myself and Janne that it was a good place to live, and to raise a family.
So far, so good.
But it's Sunday, and I'd rather be still in bed, waiting for the twins to wake up, to then bring them in before we go downstairs for breakfast to spend some quality time, laughing and playing on our bed. It's a weekend ritual. Instead, I have to get showered and shaved, and go to work. For me, shaving on a Sunday is almost sacreligious. However, it's not the work but the not-being-with-my-family that I mind.

I heard Morgan start to talk in her sleep, so I waited to see if she was waking, but - as she often does - she hit the button on her music box/light projector and settled back into sleep, so I decided I'd better get into the shower ASAP.
As I got prepared to get back out of the bathroom, I heard rustling, and little voices...and, as I came back into our bedroom, I saw that Janne had the twins tucked under our covers - Liam on my pillow, and Morgan on hers. Then, my wife prompted my little girl to say, "Happy Father's Day, Daddy", and Liam followed, with the same greeting. (Good coaching, Mommy!)
In the rush to get ready for work, I had let it slip my mind. Not that there's really anything wrong with a Dad forgetting about his own Father's Day - as long as that Dad never forgets to be a father.

My Daddy Day Cards. Liam's on the left, Morgan's on the right.
Mowing the lawn. It's apparently a guy thing from very early in life.

Our daycare provider said, "I don't know where she comes up with these things", but I seem to recall it from an episode of Little Bear we once watched together.

For me, being a father is a greater privilege than I ever thought it would be - and I put off being a father - somewhat instinctively, I think - for a very long time. After having had such a great father, I lived very much in fear of never living up to his example. That fear hasn't entirely gone away, but with twins who present new challenges and objectives for me every day, I have much less time to think about how I'm going to be as great a Dad as my Dad was - simply because the time dwelling on that is far better spent trying to be the best Dad I can be.
Thank you, Liam and Morgan, for allowing me the privilege of being your Dad...and thank you, Janne, for - in your own way - convincing me that I was ready for it.
And HERE'S a surprise!
I was just about to post this, when Janne got home from a couple of morning errands she needed to run before I went off to work. She summoned me out to her car to get THESE!:Hand-painted by Morgan and Liam, patio stones for our backyard!
How cool a Father's Day gift is THAT?