One of the best things a father can do for his children is love their mother.

…and 99 other things that you did.
do.
am.
are.

1. You readily tucked the boys into bed with stories and songs.
2. When you weren’t there to tuck them into bed because you stayed late at the office working on your dissertation, you stayed up even later to make a “special kiss” that represented something about your day or your love for them, and left it under their pillow.
3. When they called home crying because they weren’t home for us to tuck them into their own bed, you made them feel safe by telling them fun and imaginative stories over the phone that melted away all of their fears and worries.
4. On repeat.
5. You set up their telescope and inspired them to think about the world beyond their own.
6. You introduced them to the Star Wars mythology. Because gadgets, wisdom, stories.
7. You made the best pancakes.
8. You introduced them to the cultural enterprise of the Marvel Universe and created our own opening-night-concession-crashing-candy-grabbing-popcorn-eating-family-time-legacy.
9. You organized the best trips to the local Bug Park and nonchalantly taught them about cool insects and the role they play in our ecosystem, while secretly strengthening bonds and easing anxieties.  
10. They trusted you to gently pull their loose baby teeth.
11. You blessed them with generous grandparents who gifted them with compassion, patience, joy, wisdom… and the love of golf.
12. You made them (and yourself) the best birthday cakes.
13. You unquestioningly navigated numerous and lengthy road trips to every. single. sporting event.
14. You kept the sidelines and bleachers cheerful.
15. You welcomed parents, friends, teammates into our home and effortlessly made them feel comfortable.
16. You withstood unfavourable weather conditions as you supported them—taught them to—honour their commitments to their coaches and their teammates.
17. You shaped their integrity.
18. You initiated and accepted countless invitations to play pickup basketball in the driveway which nurtured their fun-loving and competitive spirit.
19. You taught them to shave.
20. You helped them cope with the loss of their pets, provided comfort and even hosted memorial services.
21. Together, you assembled things, constructed things, installed things, fixed things, schemed things all why reinforcing their problem solving skills, their creative thinking skills—and your bond.
22. Again.
23. You coached them to drive a car and provided them with the means to continue to do so independently.
24. Through your own pursuits, you demonstrated that hard work is a valuable, challenging and worthwhile pursuit. Never give up!
25. Consistently demonstrated respectful behaviour by showing concern, support and regard for others.
26. By example as an individual and as a professional, you played a critical, critical, CRITICAL role in the formation of their logic and reasoning skills. Huge.
27. Speaking of critical… you played an equally important role in the development of their critical thinking skills which made them into the confident and awesome humans they are.
28. As Chief Navigator of our gazillion family road trips, you made sure that you they had all the snacks and supplies needed to reconnect and re-energize during those long hours and late nights—and beat you at the much-loved Alphabet Game.
29. The laughs and secrets shared during your long distance, father-son road trips will undoubtedly invoke fondness and an urge to create the same memories with their own families.
30. You are always present.
31. You always stepped up when their team needed a coach, a scorekeeper, a liaison, a referee—and a laugh.
32. As Vacation Director Extraordinaire, your infectious curiosity and fearlessness gave them the freedom to safely explore different parts of the world and empowered them to shift their perspective and boost their self-awareness.
33. You modelled understanding when helping them with their homework, projects or challenging situations.
34. You are never shy about telling a joke or being the brunt of theirs.
35. You are an exemplary role model of commitment—to a task, a person, a relationship, a promise, a change in habit—everything and anything. Your passion to invest the time and effort to change a behaviour that you don’t like in yourself has even inspired me to stop eating chips.
36. Just kidding.
37. You readily admit when you are wrong and commit to changing an unhealthy behaviour for someone that you love. See #35 when you feel that it’s warranted. See #38 when you feel that it isn’t.
38. You are steadfast.
39. You are fiercely protective of your family.
40. You honour the institution of marriage.
41. Your love for tradition has given our family a sense of stability.
42. You are fair.
43. You are able and willing to accept criticism and use it openly to self-reflect.
44. You are a jack-of-all-trades, but pretend to be a master of none.
45. You embrace being under-estimated.
46. You show them how to focus on the goal and not worry about what others think.
47. You taught them how to be brave by not following the majority, to become a better version of themselves, to work hard and to stay curious.
48. Your methodical and organized approach to tasks taught them to be thoughtful about their time and resources.
49. You always made sure we had nutty buddies.
50. They trust you to help them with everything.
51. Your unwavering principles guarantee that your advice comes from the right place, and that you will always keep them accountable. 
52. Which annoys them.
53. You are fun to be with and you make our home a happy place for everyone.
54. You are a strong and supportive husband which brings comfort and security to our family.
55. You are a great conversationalist.
56. You introduced them to their first football pool and the spirit of tradition.
57. You hug them.
58. You share your love of music Stevie Wonder.
59. You nursed them through asthma attacks, stitches, allergic reactions, pasta noodles up the nose, sprained ankles, wisdom teeth extractions, bumps, bruises, bullies, stomach bugs, bum bugs, colds, flus, heartaches, heart scares, orthodontic procedures, sports injuries, allergies, anxieties, fevers…
60. You lugged their heavy, listless, sleeping bodies up multiple flights of stairs after cozy Fun Friday movie nights and Survivor finales.
61. You remember, appreciate and remind us all of the special, crazy and small moments that we created individually or shared as a family.
62. You are ruthless when you play Monopoly and you never let them win.
63. Ever.
64. I could always trust you to pick them up on time from childcare.
65. Oh wait.
66. You started and finished your PhD while learning to be a dad. Remind you of anyone?
67. You taught them how to ride a bike—and continued to keep them balanced.
68. You pretend to struggle with technology so they keep coming home to visit help. Right?
69. You do all of the tough and messy jobs without complaint.
70. You always tolerated cold temperatures and willingly jumped into the frosty fun of tobogganing, skiing, tubing, snowball fights and snow forts.
71. When they were a scared and nervous Beaver they ran to you for comfort. You. Even when they had other choices right beside you.
72. You walked their friends home during snowstorms to make sure they got home safely.
73. Adjusting to a new sibling can be hard, but you effortlessly—and likely unknowingly—made it meaningful for them as you regularly recalled, and cherished with them, the snowy walk back to the car hand-in-hand, the sleepover with just the two of you, the pancake breakfast—and Twiggs: the little stuffed giraffe that you inspired as their first gift to each other and which became our family’s symbol of love and acceptance.
74. You forwent your love of SciFi and the comfort of your favourite television series to attend multiple live theatre performances for me, and for the influence it would have on their imagination and their renewed perspectives.
75. You immortalized my identity through the gift of vanity licence plates which served as a daily reminder that we are not (fully) bound by someone else’s choices.
76. You faithfully keep our pantry full and our reserves fully stocked for Armageddon.
77. You secretly collected and then mailed in proof-of-purchase labels from cereal boxes just to surprise them with the goofy prizes.
78. You fearlessly educate and inspire young minds to pursue their dreams and encourage diversity of thought.
79. You engage with our community through leadership and consultation.
80. You “prepare” food when we’re all too tired, lazy or sick to cook. 
81. You get them out of trouble when they are stuck.
82. You demonstrate perseverance and success through your own failures. 
83. You respect me.
84. You woke up early or stayed up late to decorate for our traditional birthday breakfasts.
85. You unapologetically made every Easter egg hunt ridiculously challenging.
86. You are always down to play a board game, shoot the ball, play cribbage or a card game.
87. You regularly relay the principles of good business.
88. You make the best Kraft noodles.
89. You love us unconditionally.
90. You showed them the value of quiet time with a good book—which, if they’re reading this—hint, hint.
91. You showed them that it’s okay to cry. 
92. You acknowledged and celebrated every small success and important milestone.
93. You listened through difficult times with patience and understanding.
94. You keep them morally accountable.
95. You clean up after the pets even though you never wanted them in the first place.
96. You are outgoing and make friends everywhere you go.
97. You keep yourself healthy and active.
98. On top of all of this you taught them to brush their teeth, change car tires, jump start a car, tie their shoes, tie a tie, light a grill, use basic tools, give tips at restaurants, be of service to others, catch a ball, mow the lawn, tie a knot, grow stuff, paint stuff, measure twice, manage money (again—hint, hint), shake a hand, grow their own food, own their mistakes, honour elders, unclog a toilet, grill a steak, make a cup of coffee… stand up for what you believe in.
99. You are literally the human version of an “Amazon Alexa” which answers our myriad of questions and engages our favourite services to keep us all organized, informed, safe, connected and entertained.

Originally published: June 18, 2023 (for Father’s Day)