In the sea of parenthood we are tumbled like stones upon the shore. Tugged and pulled and pulled and tugged until our edges wear away and we slip by each other in the night without a sound.

Gymnastics classes and doctors appointments and grocery lists weave in and out of work and meals and broken sleep.

We are strangers in the night, sometimes, you and I. Our kisses saved for boo boos and bruises. Our caresses spent on rosy cheeks and tiny feet.

We smile and wave as we chase the same dream, in opposite directions.

The days of sleeping in and making out are gone but not over. Tucked away for an afternoon down the road when we’ll revel in the memories of this chaos and smile to ourselves that those were the days.

At night our arms touch, legs intertwined under a cotton comforter that is permanently missing its sheet. And we breathe. We regroup. We refill. Remember why we’re here and what we’re fighting for.

My heart bursts with love for you every day. Every giggle, every smile, every bold and awkward dance move she makes fills my heart with love for you. Because she is part of you. The best parts of you. And the ugly too.

I love them so because I love you.

A deep, undercover kind of love that no longer boils but simmers instead under the surface of our day-to-day lives.

I don’t say it but I hope you can feel it.

Every time you tuck her in at night.

Every kiss on little cheeks.

Every swaddle and every song.

I love you more.

Parenthood has pulled us apart and kept us together. Sucked us dry, and filled us up.

But more than anything, it has shown us just how beautiful our love for each other truly is.

I never knew the weight of my love for you, until I held it in my arms.

Happy Father’s Day Dan.

Love, all your girls.