I’m working on a post about my disdain for the “bad mom badge” trend that seems to be going around, but right now, I am too tired and surfeited on chocolate chip cookie dough cupcakes* to really write anything of great profundity.
Instead, I’m going to write some mushy stuff about Officer Daddyman, because today is his birthday, and he deserves mushy stuff written about him at least twice a year (on birthday and anniversary) at a minimum.
Officer Daddyman is the homeschooling daddy that every homeschooling mom wishes she had on her side. He does math with Captain Science almost every day. He does computer programming once a week. He helps research curricula (he’s an excellent researcher), but when I settle on something, he supports me as the primary home educator. He’s been 100% supportive from the beginning. In fact, he was really the one who got us started on homeschooling as a possibility and he’s helped me make it a reality. When I see other homeschoolers talking about unsupportive spouses, I wish I could send them a little bit of Daddyman’s awesomeness.
He’s a Big Damn Hero. Not only does he strap on the whole kit n’ kaboodle–bullet proof vest, uniform, badge, gun, etcetera–but he’s loaded himself up with knowledge above and beyond the average cop. He developed a passion for learning about domestic violence (psychology, laws, all of that) and goes above and beyond to help DV victims (usually women). He’s taken advanced DV training and would like to work for the DV detective unit some day. He’s developing a personal safety and self-defense course to offer to women in the community, for free, to not only teach them basic defense skills, but to identify abusive behaviors early and understand risk factors. He occasionally even pops onto the WTM forums to add his voice of experience to a DV-related thread.
He cooks brunch several days a week. The kids and I eat a light breakfast when we start the school day, but once Daddyman is up and rolling (and showered and all that), he puts on a good spread — bacon, eggs, pancakes or waffles, and sometimes eggs Benedict or just really nice egg sandwiches. He’s a good cook, too!
He makes sure I get “me” time. Once a week, I join Patchfire and my other “girls” for frozen custard and/or a hot beverage (now that Rita’s is closing early). Hey, we’d hit a bar, but we have to be up to homeschool the next day (and one of us is a Mormon…and pregnant). He stays home w/ the three kids, gets them to bed, and doesn’t complain when I don’t bring custard home to him. He’s actually gotten pretty good about getting Babypie down for sleep about half the nights I go out!
Best of all, he’s the kind of man who is so confident and comfortable in his own masculinity, that he’s not only willing to pose for a picture where he knows he’ll be “holding” Tinkerbelle, but thinks it’s funny when his mother-in-law has the “Disney Fairies” border added…and then posts it on Facebook (where his wife reposts it).
Officer Daddyman: great husband, great daddy, all around good guy, and pretty darn cute to boot! Happy birthday to my seriously awesome husband.
*8 sticks of butter, baby. And entirely from scratch. That’s how much I love my husband!
