I could not let Father’s Day pass by without acknowledging the man who fathered the children who inspired this whole blog, aka my best guy.

Ryan is kindhearted, has a work ethic that is second to none, will give you the shirt off his back, and truly lives to make me and the boys happy. He basically dedicates his life to provide for us; I’m not sure how the boys and I got so lucky.

Jack and Nick absolutely worship their dad; they imitate him every chance they get and watching them run to the door when he comes home from work is incredibly heartwarming (well, on the really rough days, I’m more like “ok byyee!”).

I know the line by which he lives his life was drawn by his dad. You know the story, how little boys idolize their dads. If you ask him, Ryan will tell you that he credits all the things he does right to his dad, and the mistakes were because he wasn’t listening. He’ll also tell you that his dad always made time for his family.

I reached out to my brothers- and sister-in-law to gather a few classic values passed down from my father-in-law (I would have asked Ryan, but he was sleeping from a night shift and originally I wanted this post to be a surprise for him). The first three responses were literally word for word phrases Ryan likes to keep in his rotation at home (the apple does not fall far from the tree here, folks). The others were short, sweet, and packed a meaningful punch.

If you’re going to do something, do it right. Most often, this means doing it yourself. Neither my husband nor my father-in-law are quick to hire someone, especially if it’s something they can do themselves. Oh no no. Doing it yourself means that you know it’s done right. You would have thought I had three heads when I suggested we hire someone to paint our entryway. To both their credit, I have watched them take on various home projects with ease, and the completed products look professionally done.

Nothing comes easy, you have to work for it. Ryan does not subscribe the mentality that anything is handed to you. You want good things to happen or to have nice things? You gotta work for it; your hard work will pay off. We try to implement this with the boys…we haven’t been successful yet.

Breakups are like the flu, they only hurt for a little while. Does this even need an explanation? What a wise comparison here. He’s right, the initial sting sucks, but you put on your big girl pants and keep on keepin’ on.

I’m incredibly grateful that my father-in-law’s solid example of fatherhood influenced Ryan to be the dad he is to the boys. As Ryan continues to admire his dad, I hope he knows the Jack and Nick are putting him on their own pedestal, too. And while they can’t quite articulate it yet, I know they (as am I) can’t wait to soak up all of the things Ryan will teach them as the years go by.

Ya know, some may say it’s cliche to think your dad is a hero when he’s a fireman or a policeman. But in Ryan’s case (and mine too for my own dad), that’s the truth. And the boys won the lottery for having one of each for grandpas (plus they think the lights and sirens are really cool, too).