To Dave

Thank you for making me a mom.

Thank you for being open to life when you were forty-five and forty-seven.

Thank you for enduring all the comments about "becoming a grandfather" with good humor and grace and never barking, "I'm the father, darn it!"

Thank you for all the sacrifices that you make so that I can stay home and corral this bunch. I may complain sometimes, but I really am grateful.

Thank you for being a man of faith, a man of humility, a man who seeks God, does it imperfectly, is willing to admit his failings, gets up, and walks some more. Our children have seen what it means to persevere.

Thank you for being a man who has a tender heart for the poor, the forgotten, the elderly, the single parents, the sick, the lonely. We once left on a family trip three hours late because you brought grocery and  baby supplies to a homeless woman with no insurance and no money.You call me on.

Thank you for adoring your daughter. She adores you, too.

Thank you for indulging Kolbe's many creative outlets even when this involves both money and mess.

Thank you for giving Tim and John your brown eyes.

Thank you for passing on your mathematical gifts. When they take the SAT, they'll be so glad they didn't get mine.

Thank you for spending a week enduring rain, consuming prison-quality meals, and sleeping in a hut so that you share Boy Scout camp with Tim.


Thank you for letting John go along with you wherever you go.

We love you, and we thank you.
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