This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone. #NauticaforDad #CollectiveBias
Earlier today, I found myself looking through our wedding pictures. Because, well, I suppose these are things that you have the time to do when your kids are away at “Camp Grandma” for a few weeks. I’ve always said I’m going to make an album, but in the nearly 9 years since our wedding I’ve never gotten around to it. Sure, it’s a process I’ve started many times before, but somehow I always seem to get distracted and it ends up being put to the side. But today, just 6 days until our 9th wedding anniversary, I decided to start the process one more time. 
As I flipped through and tried to pick my favorite pictures to include in the book, I got swept away to that June day in South Carolina nearly 9 years ago. A bright, sunny, hot southern day, filled with family and friends. It was hard to not to notice how well rested we looked…compared to, well, now. And then I realized it – those young, well-rested faces had no idea the voyage that they were starting. The most amazing voyage that they were starting. They had no idea that the voyage that would take them skiing in Colorado, sipping wine in Napa, sightseeing in New York City, and to stadiums all over the country.
Or that they’d welcome 3 of the most amazing kids. Each of them unique, with their own talents and interests. Kids that would change their lives in ways that they couldn’t even imagine back then.
Because the truth is, as I looked at those pictures from 9 years ago, it seems so far away. We are the same people in the pictures, and yet so very different. And as much as people always say that someone shouldn’t change who they are, one of the greatest gift my marriage has given me is watching my husband transition into a “thathi” (the Sri Lankan word for father). 
Because he’s not your ordinary dad. He’s the dad that volunteers to coach our little league when they need someone to step up so the game won’t be forfeited. He’s the dad that attempts to make a bun so Greenleigh won’t get in trouble at dance class, even though he clearly has no working knowledge of how to do little girls’ hair. He’s the dad that readily jumps into action when I’m stuck at work, and has dinner on the table and homework checked by the time I get home. He makes time for the kids every chance he gets, even if it means stopping the lawnmower on an already too hot June day just to say hi and give hugs.
And he looks pretty good in a tux, if I do say so myself.
Our life together is no doubt an amazing voyage, full of good times and some bad, but he’s always there to keep us anchored. To provide for us, to protect us, and to keep us from getting too crazy…because, let’s face it, that happens. He’s the constant force that keeps us going, and the force that keeps us from going right off the edge. It’s no doubt a very delicate balance, yet he does it so incredibly well. So naturally, I thought of him when I happened to see the Nautica “Voyage” gift set while I was at Macy’s earlier this week. The fresh, crisp smell reminds me of our trip to San Francisco right after we were married and our trip to Captiva Island with the kids just a few years ago. It seemed to wrap our lives with and without kids into one little box. I knew that it would make a great gift.
As you celebrate your voyage and the anchor of your family this weekend, be sure to check out the Nautica Voyage gift box available in the Macy’s men’s fragrance department or on Macy’s.com. It’s a gift he’s sure to love!
And make sure to enter the Nautica giveaway – one winner will receive a cruise package valued at $4,000 and 5 second place winners will receive Nautica fragrance gift packages!* Good luck!
Nautica for Dad
So how will you celebrate Father’s Day this weekend? Do you have any special plans? *Winners must be 18 years or older.
Your husband sounds like an awesome guy! I hope he had a great Father’s Day this year. (And good luck with that album!) #client