“What do you want to be when grow up?” Apparently, my answer was always the same. “I want to be a dad.” This is what my mom told me I said when I was young – and it doesn’t surprise me at all. For as long as I can remember I wanted a large family. Four boys and many years later, my love for being a parent hasn’t changed. Mind you, it’s hasn’t always been easy, but most definitely rewarding.

For me, several people come to mind, in addition to my dad, who played the part of a father figure. And each of these individuals taught me different life lessons that shaped my development.  So today I’ll celebrate Fathers’ Day and the collective effort of parenting – thus the placement of the apostrophe.

Matthieu calls me daddy; Max and Micah refer to me as father; and for years, Marc jokingly called me “pops”. Whatever the title, I’ll take it. I feel exponentially blessed to be a dad and wouldn’t give up the role for anything in the world.

Happy Fathers’ Day.