We’re taking a couple of weeks off the audio journal portion of this website. Rob and I are on the road for a bit of a breather, so I’m giving him a break from producing them. 
 
I hope you had a lovely Father’s Day. It’s not something we mark in our home – at Rob’s request – but, of course, I remind him often of how great a dad he was. And he knows it. 
 
Lauren got a lot of things from me, but she definitely inherited a very handy streak from her father. She always recognized his talent: as a little girl, she’d often say – in a voice that just sounded like someone wrapping someone else around her finger – “Daddy can fix anything…” and, with only a few exceptions, he could. (Of course, she wasn’t old enough to remember the time he assembled her high chair and had about five parts left over. I was pretty adamant that he take it apart and start over!)
 
But she watched him and learned and we couldn’t have been more proud of her when she showed us that she had single-handedly (and with help from a youtube video) hooked up a kitchen sprayer to the toilet water supply line in her bathroom. The purpose was to be able to pre-wash cloth diapers and, boy, it worked!
 
Our grandson Colin’s new mama – and daddy Phil’s fiancée – Brooke is equally handy, I’m happy to report. From installing a child safety gate to putting in locks and doing general repairs, she’s always up to a challenge. And best of all, she doesn’t hesitate to give Rob a call when she has any questions. We’re grateful for that, as sad as we are for her that her own dad is no longer around to be able to help solve her problems. It’s just another reason we’re so glad to have found and opened our hearts to each other. 
 
Because even though there’s no one to call him “Daddy” anymore, it sure doesn’t mean he wants to stop sharing any gifts he can. And what a joy it is to be asked again. Have a lovely Monday and we’ll be back with you here tomorrow.