Adventures...

When I met my dear husband, we were two 19 year old kids attending college. As I fell in love with him, I gained an appreciation for all the gifts that made him the person he was. He's kind, patient, generous, honest. All things you would want in a husband. And so I hoped one day he might be my husband. What I did not truly realize as a young woman was that these gifts would not only make him a good husband but they would allow him to be a wonderful father. I think I only focused on one piece of the puzzle at a time. I knew he would be a good husband to me. Check. I thought we would make great parents, since we shared the same values. Check. But, I have to say it is a blessing to watch him be a father.

On Friday, Andrew and Jay separately asked for some quality time with just Daddy this weekend. And they also asked if they could have an adventure with Daddy. Now, I like to think we have good adventures during the week as I dream up different ways to spend our days together but, they pale in comparison to Daddy's adventures (or so I've been told).

For their adventure yesterday, they took a ride on the Metro train (an adventure in its own right) and got off at the Arlington Cemetery stop. Part of the adventure was to collect clues of all the places they would visit. So, they collected a Metro map before making their way to the information center at Arlington Cemetery. They collected a brochure about Arlington Cemetery. Mark made up a clue for them that they needed to find a man sitting on a chair. And so, they headed to their next destination which was The Lincoln Memorial. Here they are walking towards the Arlington Memorial Bridge to get to Lincoln. (Which was a big hit for Andrew who just learned a whole bunch about Abraham Lincoln at preschool last month.) You can see the Lincoln Memorial way off int he distance.



They made their way all the way back to the Arlington Cemetery metro stop. They had one more destination in mind before heading home. National Airport. How cool that they can hop off the train and see an airport, with planes taking off and landing. (This is an "adventure" they have done before.) They had an early dinner and picked up some more "clues". Then they headed home to tell Mom all about it. I just sat and smiled while Andrew plucked clue after clue from his backpack and thought how lucky these two boys are to have this man for their daddy.

Since the days when Andrew was a baby, Mark would take him for an afternoon on a Saturday or Sunday so that I could recoup some energy and relax. They would go run errands or spend long hours at the playground, go for walks, etc. This did not change with the addition of Jay. Mark would gladly take both boys to afford me some quiet time. I've always appreciated that Mark would do this for me and I've always felt that I was the primary beneficiary. But, I've come to realize Andrew and Jay are the ones who are truly benefiting from "adventures with Daddy". They will carry memories of these "adventures" with them in their hearts forever. In fact, I can just picture them taking their children for adventures. And more importantly, they are learning those wonderful gifts of kindness, patience, and generosity. I can't think of anyone better from whom to learn about those values, than my dear husband.