Who IS Daddy Shortbread?

Well, for starters, his name is Tom. "Daddy Shortbread" was born from an old family joke, riotously funny at the time, but completely inexplicaple to anyone who wasn't there. It seemed like a good monniker for him when I first began blogging, but the more times I type it, the more aware I am of exactly how many more letters there are in "Daddy Shortbread" than in "Tom" (twelve).

Also it makes us sound like that creepy couple that calls each other "Mother" and "Daddy." We are so not that couple.

I'd like to introduce my husband Tom.He's not just your average husband and father. I stood perusing the Father's Day cards last week, completely perplexed by the assortment of cards aimed at Sports Lover Dad, Fisherman Dad, Incompetent Repairman Dad, Macho Dad, and Beer-Drinking Couch Potato Dad.

He is none of these things. (Thank God).

We scrapped our grander Father's Day plans due to weather, (hi, June? March called, and it wants its weather back.) but left it to Tom to pick our replacement activity. He decided we would hike down to a nearby dam. The woods are lush and damp after the constant soaking rains we've had this June, and the stream was bound to be roaring.

We were not disappointed. The stream was a torrent.

Tom is endlessly fascinated by water. He will happily deviate from any route for the chance to see a lake, river, or ocean. Even when there's no guarantee about the "seeing" part. Like the time we rambled aimlessly for a REALLY long time around a random penninsula because damn it, there has to be a road that goes down to the ocean. (There was not. Of this I can guarantee you).

He is passionate about our adopted home-state of Maine. He loves learning the long, rich history of the countryside around us. His penchant for exploring has taken us to sites that many locals have never ever seen.

He has the ability to see great beauty in nature.
He loves his daughters fiercely. He encourages their interests, and gives unselfishly of his time. He's way better than I am at playing certain mindless boardgames (*cough* Candlyland *cough*). He once went back to work with a little butterfly clip in his hair because he let his four-year-old play beauty shop on him while he ate his lunch. And he was amused, not embarrassed, when a co-worker pointed it out. That's a great daddy. Tom: lover of music, history, art, nature, literature, and the stock market; persecutor of red squirrels; Daddy to Bear and Bug; husband of mine.

I love you exactly as you are.