Father of the year

The longer I have been a dad, the more I realize how much my children need me to just be around them and share my life with them. I'm a long way from being father of the year (despite the title of this post), but they simply want me to be with them. I find that fact simply amazing. Yesterday, I beat both the girls pretty soundly at checkers, but they were happy just to have me play with them. Nathan, John and I sat and watched part of a hunting show on the DVR and read a book together because they said, "Dad, I want you to spend time with me." None of this qualifies me for any kind of award. It's just the normal stuff that we do a lot of at our house. But I still find it deeply humbling.