Memoir Mondays~ What makes a real dad

I am linking up again with my friend, Chris, over at Campfires and Cleats.

A few days ago, we went hiking up in a state park as a family. 

Daddy had the day off and the kids enjoyed the time spent with him. 

This past weekend, daddy took the kids outside and played.

They practiced with their bow and arrows, shot their BB guns, and they got to practice throwing Lego Man's hatchet he got for his birthday.

The afternoon past in a flash but the memories will last a life time.

Watching my kids with their daddy brought up old memories for me.

I am child of divorce. My parents divorced by the time I was three and I stopped seeing my biological father by the age of 9. Thankfully God had other plans for my life. My mom remarried when I was six. My step-dad had never been married before and had never had kids, so it was all new to him. He jumped right in and never looked back. My years are filled with so many happy moments.

I remember.....

saying night time prayers, 

being sung a bicycle built for two at bedtime, 

crying in the car because he had been pulled(I thought he was going to jail) over while singing O won't you come home Bill Bailey, 

apple picking in the fall, 

eating ice cream after Mass in the summer time, 

butterfly kisses and Eskimo kisses, 

apple cider, 

Sunday morning stops at the Italian bakery...the smell of bread,

bandaging up a hurt finger not long after becoming my daddy, 

being my chauffeur for ballet,gymnastics and little girl birthday parties, 

being taught how to cook an egg, 

late night picks ups from cheering for football, basketball and soccer games, 

eating dinner late in the car while sharing news about my day, 

being scolded for riding my bike on the grass...he liked a well maintained yard, 

big dinners with his Italian family, 

watching a slide show of his far away travels from his life before kids, 

a road trip all the way to Colorado  vacations to Virginia, Florida, South Carolina, and the shore,

the day his father died,

being dropped off at college for the first time, 

back and forth trips going back and forth between school and home, 

grocery shopping to make sure I had food to eat, 

getting a pizza together before he headed back home, 

moving me into my first real apartment,

 being their for me when I planned my wedding, 

walking me down the aisle, 

and holding my children for the first time.

I could go on and on. 

The one thing I have learned in this life is any man can make a baby, but it takes a special man to become a father. I am so blessed that God chose this man for me. He has loved me unconditionally. I haven't always treated him kindly. I think most teenagers go through a period when their parents are horrible. Looking back at my behavior when I was younger, I regret so much. After I got married, I told him how much I appreciated all the stuff he did for me throughout the years. He didn't have to send me to Catholic school, buy me a car or all the fancy dresses for dances, or pay for me to got to a small private college. He did because he loved me. For that I will always be grateful.

I am so lucky to have him as my father. My children are blessed to have him in their lives.

Linking up with....Campfire and Cleats, Monday Mingle