Today at Castle Allen we’re not only excited to celebrate my
son’s 14th Birthday but it’s also Father’s Day. I was thinking about all the Father’s
Days and realize that Big Chief has had to miss quite a few of those. When he’s away we always try to
make up for it and make him feel like he was here. There’s always the big box that goes out 3 weeks before the
actual date because with the mail going overseas could take 5 days to never
to get there. Its usually loaded
with his favorite things; Cheerios, big tubes of chew, pictures of the kids and
their finger paintings of Baby Girl’s hands to see how she’s grown and a pillow
case that smells like Warm Vanilla Sugar. Then we would wait for the phone call on a really
crappy static land line or cell phone. Its hard to fit a month’s worth of excitement
and conversations into a 15-20 minute phone call.
I’m thankful for his opportunities and that he’s the man
that he is and his love for our country.
I knew the game when I married him. I know my struggles and what I have to do for the kids. I don’t think that we ever stop to
think about what the guys go through when they walk out that door. We’re so accustomed to men being the
big protectors and not having feelings that It doesn’t sink in that when they
get on a plane when their daughter is 3 months old, there’s a chance he won’t
come back and that deep down inside, the biggest Big Chief is falling to
pieces. It’s probably what
makes them hard like woodpecker lips.
Men can bury feelings. I
envy that to a degree.
Not only has Big Chief been a fantastic dad to his daughter
but he welcomed my son into his life when he was only 5 years old. You hear stories of the awful stepdads
who did horrible things to their kids, but I found the exact opposite. He was deployed for my son’s last full
year in the cub scouts and came home during the Pine Car Derby! He came straight from re-integrating
into the real modernized world again to the event, uniform and stinky in toe,
and was there to watch Braden’s poor lil car that I tried to help him win with
get the Ugly Turtle award.
Through out the years they have grown close and developed a bond that I
don’t have with my son. He’s
taught him what it means to be a man, a respectful man. He’s tried to show him how to treat
ladies by opening the door and saying thank you. They started Archery together and just last night went on
their first bow hunt. I’m thankful
that Braden has someone he can go to, no matter what and will be there for
him. Big Chief made Braden
his “son”, not because it was convenient, not because he thought he would get
some monetary benefit out of it, not to impress me…but because he cared and
loves him. There’s nothing more a
mother could want for her babies than that, and for that, I’m truly
grateful!
For my daughter, she has her bestest friend and the guy who
will make bodies disappear and we’ll never speak of again. The man that she only has to look at
with those big blue eyes and with that long drawn out southern draw
say…DaaaddDEE, and he’s done.
Whatever she wants its gonna happen. She knows how to work her magic with him. Baby Girls are the only thing that can
make a man hard like woodpecker lips start to cry at any given point in the day
about any random thought. It’s the
craziest thing I’ve ever seen. We
can be in a full blown 3 alarm argument and she can say those magic words
followed by….you’re the bestest daddy in the whole world…and he’s done. I need to learn how to possess
these magical powers. I’ve seen
him have a tea party and wear purple bunny ears, they have their daddy/daughter
dates once a month, they’re crafting buddies and now they have their special
times learning to swim. There
will never be a man that will ever live up to the magic that is daddy, and I
know secretly down inside that makes Big Chief pretty ecstatic. But his dreams of buying an RV
and following her around the rest of her life while she pursues jet pilot
status I may have to burn those, at some point I’d like to have my husband back
to just me. Who are we kidding, I’m
going to be in an RV.
Today, we will celebrate a young man turning 14, a new stage
in his life in becoming a man and we will celebrate Father’s Day with a man we
all hope our daughters marry one day and our sons have for role models and
best friends. Happy Father's Day to all the Good Ones!!!!
