Closer to the Ben

When I was pregnant, one of the things I was looking forward to the most was seeing Heath as a father. I haven't been disappointed. From day one he jumped right in and embraced fatherhood. In my opinion, women are no more "naturally" parental than men, so Heath and I learned how to do everything for Ben right along side each other. We both bathe him, feed him, change his diapers, put him to sleep, etc. As a result, Heath doesn't "babysit" his child, like some men, but he simply cares for him as a parent should. Whenever I'm out and Heath is with Ben, it doesn't even occur to me to call and check on them, because I know they're fine.

Though Heath likes to whirl Ben around and throw him up in the air, he's also very gentle and kind. It breaks his heart to hear Ben cry and I've found them taking naps together on dozens of occasions. He talks to Ben constantly and every song he sings gets "Ben" inserted in an interesting place. Imagine, "Row, row, row your Ben, gently down the Ben..." I'd give more examples, but they're mostly Rush songs, so nobody would know them (ha!).

But the thing that proves Heath is a great father doesn't even come from Heath. Every night when he comes home from work, Ben and I go to the door to greet him. As soon as Ben sees his daddy he gets the hugest grin on his face. He is obviously overjoyed to see Heath and to me that says it all.