I am writing this looking out the window at my wife. She is walking through our yard in a sweatshirt that says “Hug Dealer.” She has a green bag around her right hand and is bending over every 10 feet picking up dog feces.
Damn, she’s sexy.
Seriously. I was just thinking that. It is impossible for her to be not hot. Being as such, I sometimes wonder why she didn’t just decide to be a morally reprehensible person and skate by on her good looks.
Kim is, in fact, a really good person. And she’s at her very best when she is being a Mom.
The Real Story
Here’s a truth bomb. I wanted to have kids before Kim did. I’m pretty sure that it was because I wanted tiny versions of me that I could use as an excuse to be childish again. That’s the best part of being a Dad! Kim was, at first, more hesitant, because she knew that parenthood is a lot more than that.
None of that mattered the minute she held Lola in her arms for the first time. A switch went off in her brain. It’s called the “OK This Is My Priority Now Forever” switch and she hasn’t turned it off since.
I love how devoted Kim has been as a mother, how she wakes up at 5AM to pick them up from sleepaway camp because she simply must be the first one in line. I love how she feeds them healthy food almost all the time, but also surprises them with ice cream trips and cake. I love how she created a way of life that allows her to be around her kids as much as possible. I love how patient she is with them. Mostly, I love how honest she is with them. She shares everything with them, and the more curious they get, the more she shares. Sometimes the truth is scary, or sad, but she makes it very clear that she will always be there to get them through it.
Yes, Pre-Dad Me wanted mini-Penns, boundless joyful bundles of energy and hyperactivity. Now I looks at those children and sees much more of Kim. I see thoughtful, empathetic, snarky, sneaky-hilarious, beautiful, complicated wonders.
Moms are the people who make us realize the best possible versions of ourselves, and no one does that better than Kim Dean Holderness.
