On this Father’s Day, I’d like to give everybody who knows me as a dad a glow-up.

My oldest fights against authority as a default position, which the punk rocker in me respects. They also have a keen artistic talent that puts me in mind of indie comics from the 90s. We’ve got pretty close this year, which has been nice after teenage brain took over.

Eliza, a fellow “middle kid,” is an achiever. She strives for greatness, and usually exceeds her scholastic goals. She’s also an artist, and it’s been a joy being able to help her find the right tools to make her art. But she doesn’t need me any more. She’s not keen on me giving her creative advice, but I’m her parent and I get that I’m lame by default. I love seeing her carve her own path, much like I had to growing up in a blue collar household that didn’t have much use for the arts.

London has really blossomed over the last year, finding a deep love of musical theater that makes this papa proud. London loves the things they love DEEPLY. Any time they start taking about their passions it reminds me of trying to get my mom to understand what I loved about comics and Encyclopedia Brown and a million other things I love. London is a great talker, and is getting better at listening.

Last, and perhaps most importantly, I need to shout out my wife Anne Marie. For one, if it wasn’t for her I wouldn’t be a dad. For two, she’s a fantastic mom and partner in crime. Thanks to the great job the kids have done at maturing and building our trust, we’ve gotten back to going out on our own for errands, Disney adventures, and other miscellaneous dates. The fact we can trust the kids is HUGE. We were so early in our relationship when kids came into the equation, in some ways it’s like we’re finally getting to enjoy our Honeymoon period, nearly two decades on. We have a proper vacation for us planned a bit later in the year, and I couldn’t be more excited.

I’ve written about my biological dad before, but I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention the dad I knew growing up, my stepdad who passed away from COVID a couple years back. I’d be lying if I said that relationship was strong, we hadn’t talked in over a decade, but he taught me a lot about being a professional, problem-solver, and how to be somebody who can put on a happy face when I’m not feeling happy. Fake it till you make it. Right?

So, Happy Father’s Day to the people who made me a dad by biology, teaching, support, and encouragement, and to all the other dads out there. Have a great one.