Hooray for Dads!

Happy Father’s Day! I am grateful to be married to a guy who is an awesome dad. Mike’s goofy sense of humor was one of the first things that caught my eye, and our kids love it as well. He understands the importance of hugs, storytelling, and spending time together as a family. Mike loves teaching the kids new things. They often read Wikipedia articles together at bedtime, he dismantles electronics with them, visits their schools to talk about his work, and uses our coin collection to teach them about the world.

I was very fortunate to grow up with a wonderful dad – one who told silly stories and spent hours reading out loud to his kids. My dad was always game for adventure. He moved my family from country to country across the globe, and was always looking for opportunities to introduce us to museums or take us on road trips to historical sites and to visit neighboring countries. We camped in the pouring rain and navigated mainly by compass on roads you could barely see in the Bolivian Altiplano. He taught himself several languages, determined not to remain on the fringes of the countries we moved to every few years. I inherited my dad’s love of stories and singing.

Mike was also raised by a wonderful dad! Mike’s dad found ways to incorporate Mike’s interests into the small business he owned, and he took his kids camping every summer. Mike inherited his dad’s outgoing friendliness and love of humor.

I hope you have a wonderful day celebrating the great dads you have in your lives, remembering the fathers we miss, and dreaming of the amazing fathers your sons will grow up to be, some day. Here’s to fathers who care, fathers who dream, fathers who work hard, fathers who laugh, and – most of all – fathers who love their families. Hooray for dads! We love you!!!

MaryAnne Kochenderfer

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MaryAnne lives is a craft loving educator, musician, photographer, and writer who lives in Silicon Valley with her husband Mike and their four children.