Congratulations, Dad!

Today is a BIG day!  Today my Dad retires, today a whole new start begins for him.  He has worked as a rural carrier for the US Postal Service since he was 19.  It amazes me to see someone love their job and be so dedicated to it and also be able to support their family all those years.  It truly is an amazing accomplishment, and it should be celebrated.And we sure have celebrated!  These are images from a week ago, when we surprised him by taking him out to lunch after church.  It was so much fun! And today we surprised him with donuts and coffee before work!My whole family except for my husband, Trevor, and my sister's husband, Adam...they couldn't be there.  But there is so much more to celebrate about my Dad than just all those years of work.  He is an absolutely amazing Dad!  To tell you the truth, it took me way too long to realize this.  Since Jasper has been born and over the past year, I have become more aware of just how wonderful he is.  Jasper connected us in a way that nothing else could, he may have been my Dad for the past 18 years of my life, but he has been Papa to Jasper since day one.Watching him take care of my Mom is something I cannot quite put into words yet.  Not yet...but I can say how he was such an amazing husband, caregiver, and Dad throughout it all.  Balancing those roles is one of the hardest challenges I can imagine, and seeing how he cared for my Mom and us kids through it all...there are just no words to completely describe my gratefulness.Like most occasions in life, this one is bittersweet, I'm sure.  His retirement life will not quite be like the one he and my mom had envisioned for so many years.  Now he is going to be a stay at home Dad to four boys, which we all now may be his hardest job yet.   He means so much to those boys, and just having him always be there when they need him makes so much that has felt a little off balanced in life, now feel just right.The entire time my Mom was sick, and then when she died, I was terrified of our close knit big family falling apart.  You see, my Mom, she was the center. The one who held everything together; everything began and ended with her in our family.  I did not know how we would ever survive as a family without her.  And although it will never be the same, my Dad is holding us all together and has held us together for many years, more than I ever really realized. He strengthens us, he comforts us, and when he gives us a smile I know we have done something right.  Congratulations, Dad!  I am so proud of you!