Happy Father's Day to Gurmeet

I want to take this Father’s Day (I know, I’m a touch early - but every day is a good day to celebrate those we love!) to say how grateful I am to my husband, Gurmeet. He is an incredible dad and my girls are so very fortunate to have him as their father. They say that you need to walk a mile in someone else’s shoes to understand them, but of course, that is not so easy to do. And yet, it’s nice to try—to do my best to think about Gurmeet’s experience, to try to see things from his perspective, what it is like to be him, what challenges he faces as a father every day. And so today I try. 

Being a dad—especially to two lovely but strong-willed girls, cannot be easy. I have spent 13 years parenting with Gurmeet and I see the challenges he deals with every day. In becoming a dad, he has taken on a responsibility and the pressure is enormous— to raise two little girls, from the many so very different stages from infancy through the time they are ready to venture out into the world, and beyond. 

As a parent, it takes so much courage to wake up every day, and just do your best. To constantly reevaluate if you are doing things right, to give each of your kids the love, energy and respect that they deserve as individual little humans who are entrusted to us. There are new challenges at every stage.

There are so many things that Gurmeet has had to put up with as a dad because he was supporting me as my photography business grew. So many times when he put me and the girls first-- ordinary moments like always being the only dad at daycare drop-offs and pickups, to long days of shopping in Twin Falls with two little girls. And then there were more dramatic moments, that we can laugh about now, like the time I was in Hawaii photographing a wedding when the girls were really little and Gurmeet had to try to keep things together for Asha as he gagged and tried to avoid throwing up on Kyra as he cleaned out her car seat when her diaper exploded, poop everywhere.

He has put his family first so many times and put up with so many things as I’ve dragged him around the world on international travels, when he could have been just as happy barbequing in our backyard. On those trips, as the girls and I enjoyed the adventure, Gurmeet always took extra care to ensure that we had somewhere wonderful to stay, and spent countless hours making sure we were eating at the best and most authentic place in town, all while also making sure that we are were all safe (which, considering some of the places we have travelled to, has not always been easy). One time, in India, Gurmeet was harassed for half an hour about where his tourist license was, as the policeman in the market assumed he was our tour guide. The poor guy has put up with so much for us, and I don’t say thank you enough. I don’t let him know how grateful I am, that every little gesture does not go unnoticed, that the girls and I appreciate him more than words can express. 

I know that having kids has enriched Gurmeet’s life in countless ways and that from the experience, he has been given incredible hope and joy. But at the same time, I know that, as a parent, there is no real break, no time to take a real breather. From the moment Asha was born, Gurmeet has been and will forever be a father in everything he does, always considering how every action will affect our kids. There is always the fear of not getting it right. As a dad, the pressure must be enormous-- to protect your kids, to always be your very best self for them, to always be their hero. Gurmeet has risen to the challenge and done such an incredible job.

And so, on this Father’s Day, I want to say thank you, from the bottom of my heart, to Gurmeet, for sharing his life with me all of these years and for all the ways that he goes above and beyond for our children every single day.