Happy Somethin'

I started making a journal of the kids' quotes and answers to questions about Jeremy long before Father's Day. And then, because life happens, it wasn't ready in time. Of course. Nor was it ready a week later (which was my intention). We don't get too hung up on the actuality of dates in this family because with a firefighting dad, we'd be moping around a lot on real birthdays, Christmas, Thanksgiving, anniversaries and almost every important holiday it seems, most years. The only ones I give myself permission to mope about is the ones we can't change, like a first day of school or Halloween.

So Jeremy didn't even bat an eye when we gave him our beloved book for Happy Father's Day And Birthday in July Day! They kids have been working hard, I couldn't wait to give it to him, and they poured over every page and every answer and every drawing. Their faces were so proud. 

I'm so sentimental that missing the "real deal" for holidays and events is actually quite hard on me. But I try to always keep my chin up and remember that we just get to drag things out. Celebrate the moments here and there. Get creative in our family time and celebrations... (My favorite is when all the kids at the fire station have an Easter egg hunt there. The glee on a child's face when he finds an egg hidden in the end of a fire hose is priceless). We have Christmas the week before. We eat turkey with men who will lay down their lives for each other, and we are those annoying people who light off fireworks on the 3rd of July. Because we have the opportunity to make it count when we can.

 
It will get harder as the kids get older. When we become more bound by school schedules and events and sports and all the things that come with growing children. And I'm already trying to bolster myself up and get prepared for those Christmas Eves and Christmas days with the kids by ourselves where we can snuggle in together and I can soak up those moments of being alone with them. Where it's all quiet and we can make our time special with games and popcorn and rent a special movie and stay up late and "don't tell dad!" because those moments will make memories too. And it seems in the meantime that the only events that get lost in the fray our Jeremy and I's birthdays. And sometimes I don't mind forgetting I'm getting another year older.