Perfect Words

To say Mark was an AMAZING dad simply doesn’t suffice… To say that he was our children’s HERO doesn’t even skim the surface of their adoration for him. Simply put, Mark was the most devoted father and husband I could have ever dreamed of. I miss watching him pitch baseballs and teach football drills in the backyard with Cooper. I miss that sparkle in his eyes when he would watch Cooper read a book or shoot a basketball or show off his dance moves. I miss seeing him snuggle with Lucia in bed, reading stories in the funniest of voices. I miss how he convinced her that picking up dog poop in the backyard is the most amazing pastime on earth, so much fun that she would follow him around for hours when the snow melted in spring, each of them with their own pooper-scooper in hand. I miss watching him push Cecilia in the swing and throw her in the air until she laughs so hard that she’s gasping for air. I miss how he tackled them all at bedtime, getting them all riled up when I was trying to get them all settled down. I miss his crazy nicknames for them: “Coopy doopy poopy head,” “Frucy Lucy Deucey” and the “Littlest Stinkerbutt,” which the elementary school teacher-in-me told him over and over again weren’t the most appropriate. Most of all, I desperately miss his fatherly wisdom. He always knew exactly what to say when I didn’t. And I am certain he would know the perfect words to say to them right now, when they miss him too.