Hold on to what you were, forget what you’re not
The streets were ours that summer, at least those two blocks
Reminisce on those days, I guess that’s OK, you wonder why
Some grow up, move on, close the chapter, live separate lives
The twenty-something confusion before the suit and tie
Strangers become mistakes but those mistakes made you feel alive

~Mackelemore & Ryan Lewis: Cowboy Boots

The dog is clean and the people are sun-kissed. A good weekend and a long weekend. All of us are now under covers in bed…Iona is napping, Logan is wavering between reading and basketball, and Jason and I are bookended with laptops and wayward glances. Happy Father’s Day. Happy Father’s Day to all the amazing dads out there. Most of all, thanks and celebrations to the great father who sired me. He gave me a stable foundation, much to consider in life, and even more to live up to. A good upbringing brings great power. Bring it; got it. Good.

I also have great appreciation for the man I now call husband. Jason’s son is with us for the summer, and I am learning about fatherhood and parenting from a new perspective on a now regular basis. This shit is not easy and yet it can be pretty darn cool. Not cool enough that birthing a child from my own loins will ever be a consideration, but interesting enough that I both curse him and revere him daily.

So what’s changed since Party Gary raised me? What have I learned in the first week of being a summer stepmom? Hell…plenty…

• It’s delightfully manipulative to sneak vegetables into food that children don’t suspect- squash into macaroni & cheese, sweet potatoes into eggs, spinach and peas into dessert – I might admittedly be getting a little too power hungry with this control
  
• Superhero socks are LEGENDARY! They make you feel like you can rule the world, or at least get a 10-year-old to run a couple miles on a hot Saturday morning
• A boy that will try beets, kale, mushrooms, Gouda, and quinoa is worthy of homemade maple bacon donuts 
• You can substitute spaghetti squash for pasta and still be called awesome
• Running the streets as a trio on Father’s Day is rather entertaining; I like that other people look envious
• I am not always smart enough, nor sober enough for board games
• Stuffed animals are still required in life, especially soft pigs and unicorns
• Driving to camp with the windows rolled down and Macklemore & Ryan Lewis blaring loudly will totally score you lots and lots of points
  
• The creators of the Disney Channel need to be tortured, or at least forced to watch their own nonsense at really high decibels
• The 10-year-old has the same shoe size as I do, and is therefore becoming an inov8 and Nike Free convert (albeit unsuspectingly through my hand-me-downs)
  

So, yes…I am enjoying this WAY more than I expected to. I apparently have had lots of fabulous parenting osmosis all around me, and I am immensely grateful for it. Thanks to all the great dads – those that raised me, those that were near me, those I call friends, those that are family, and those that inspire me.

Happy Father’s Day!