Jeffrey

Last night, I wrote a post about my own father, so tonight I present a post about another father--my son's. What can I say about Jeffrey? Hmmm....Ok, all done! Just kidding! How a girl can have two, potentially three (although Jude hasn't reached manhood just yet) great men in her life is beyond me! However, I have that. Mine and Jeffrey's parenthood adventures got off to a late start compared to most couples. We were married seven years before Jude was born. Really, it took us that long to figure out,"Hey, our cat is still alive! Maybe we COULD raise a child!" I think I'm only half kidding on that. Actually, I married Jeffrey at the tender age of twenty-two, just two weeks after finishing my Bachelor's Degree at the University of Mississippi (because, as the old saying goes, "One never graduates from Ole Miss"). We knew back then that we wanted children, but we also wanted a few other things first--a Masters degree for me, an established career path for both of us, and visiting foreign lands to eat at their McDonald's restaurants for Jeffrey. We reached all of those goals and even bought our dream home in the meantime--all of that within four years of marriage. All we needed was the baby. Obviously, the baby didn't arrive right away, and maybe that's what makes Jude even more special. Here's a fun fact: even with my pregnancy past its due date, Jude still didn't want to arrive. My doctor had to force the little booger out with some inducing meds whose names I don't recall. (I haven't taken many drugs (prescription or recreational) in my life, so I don't keep up with what they're called. If I wanted to do that, I'd have been a pharmacist.) Anyway, one could say we both got a little frustrated over the whole "Why am I not pregnant yet" mystery. Well, the mystery never cleared up, but somehow within a year's time, I got pregnant twice. The first time, as I've mentioned in other posts, didn't work out, and the second one resulted in Jude. With all of the hoping and the frustration that came with the hoping, Jeffrey never once made me feel bad and always focused on the positive: "Next time," "It's ok," "It's going to happen," "We can adopt." Somehow, he always knew we would have children while I had my doubts. Jeffrey has a talent for two things (well, more than two things, but since he'll read this, I need to keep him humble--that's NOT one of the talents, by the way--HAHA!): making the most asinine comments while keeping a straight face and making these insanely goofy faces. He's especially good at using these talents around large groups of people where only I can see and hear him and therefore laugh uncontrollably at him while everyone else looks at me as if I've completely lost my mind. Yeah. I love when he does that. However, it's his fun loving spirit that makes him a good dad. My nieces and nephews LOVE Jeffrey. His students LOVE him. And while Jude doesn't understand his witty discourse just yet, he understands Jeffrey's sunny disposition to the point that he WORSHIPS his father. And besides having the reputation as the funny guy, Jeffrey puts his whole heart and soul into being Jude's father. Jeffrey comes to Jude's swimming lessons, he dutifully scrubs poop off of cloth diapers, he baby-proofs the house, he takes Jude on manly outings, and most importantly, a day doesn't go by without Jeffrey saying "I love you, son." Shoot, Jeffrey even bought a hat to match one that Jude had. (Although, Jeffrey's came from Saks Fifth Avenue since Gymboree didn't carry his size.) I have to admit, after several years of wondering where our baby was and then finally receiving him, I sometimes wondered if Jeffrey felt we were one and done. He frets over money way more than I do, and as we all know, kids aren't cheap. Then the other day, Jeffrey made a comment about how he couldn't understand how a guy couldn't feel joy after finding out about a baby, and that's when I knew that I could out birth Michelle Duggar and Jeffrey would be on board. Of course, it's in God's hands (wait--I think Michelle Duggar actually said this. Crap!). Bottom line--Jude has the best father in world. I mean, sure Jeffrey's a drummer and can't seem to grasp that Puma tennis shoes do not pair well with a tailored suit, but Jeffrey is someone to be admired simply because he loves his son and he loves me. Happy Father's Day, Jeffrey! I love you, and Jude loves you!