It's funny what a day devoted to your status as a parent can bring. For moms, it mostly brings flowers and small gifts or offers of breakfast in bed. For dads, well, it kind of depends. I hate to say it but with Nacho working again this year, it was just another day on the calendar especially after we had just made it back from California. He mockingly joked "where are my donuts?" as he left in the morning, but we both knew any recognition would have to wait. And the truth is, his day-in day-out hard work and dedication to our family are often overlooked. I'm the one at home running the show most of the time and he's the one traveling back and forth without so much as a complaint. He makes it easy to forget that he has what can be a stressful job with a lot of responsibility. He really is so good to us, and if I don't tell him every day, at least now I'm acknowledging it. It's also true that over the last year I've really enjoyed watching him mature as a father. Several weeks after Carolina was born I remembering running some errands and leaving the girls at home with him. It was only after this outing that I realized I hadn't questioned for one minute what they were doing or how Nacho was handling things. I was confident in his abilities with both the newborn and the three year old, and it was a kind of peaceful disregard that washed over me. I was out on my own and it felt good. And he made that possible. It was so different from the aftermath of Elisa's birth and my constant nagging about all things baby-related. Now, as he likes to say, he's a "certified father" and the results are palpable. He may not have received a bouquet of flowers or the best donuts in Brooklyn as gifts on Father's Day, but I'm pretty sure he doesn't mind. We have many more years ahead to make it up to him and I look forward to trying again next June. We love you, Papa.
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