Father: an active verb

Happy Father's Day to all of those men who build memories with their children and grandchildren, to those men who step in when a father is lost or gone, to those men who watch over and care for the children in their families.

My nephew and his wife have no children. They do have nephews and nieces. We have often commented that Brad would be a wonderful father. And, he is like another father to those children. His eyes light up when he sees them. He sits on the floor and plays with them and their toys. His pride in them is that of a father. Forever he will watch over them and love them.

When my father passed, our neighbor Hollie told me that he would now be a father for me. His daughter, my best friend, and I had two fathers when we grew up. We knew that either would go to any length to protect us and see that we had quality time with a fishing pole.

My daughter-in-law has a stepfather who stepped in when she was just a little girl. He loves his stepchildren as if they were his own. Their love for him is endearing and enduring.

Fathers come in all forms. Truly, blood makes a father a father in the noun sense, yet there are other fathers who influence our lives. There are those fathers who are partners raising children giving their children two fathers to bless them with their love.

I looked into look up the verb form of father. We already know what defines a father, but I decided to see what the active form of father looked like.

father
verb (used with object)

 to beget.

 to be the creator, founder, or author of; originate.

 to act as a father toward.

 to acknowledge oneself the father of.

 to assume as one's own; take the responsibility of.

Today I honor those 'active verb' fathers. My life was richer because of fathers like these. My life has been blessed knowing men who were tender and kind to children and those children as adults. Today I remember my father. Today I thrill at the time very soon when my son will called Daddy.

Father: an active verb.

A favorite picture of my father and me