Eeek, sj, glad you weren't hurt, and I hope Teacup Guy will forgive me for thinking he's just unbearably sweet and adorable for being all protective and anxious and worried for you.

Thanks, JZ. I happen to think he is the sweetest, most adorable guy ever, but I am a bit biased.

I forgot to post ~ma for Emmett. I am so sorry to hear that he needs surgery. How are you and Hec holding up?

I'm fine, but Hec and Emmett's mom are both rather wrecked. Emmett is his usual sassy cheerful self; he's in no pain at all and he's not worried about tomorrow. I'm not either, so much; my boss the doctor gave me a mini-lecture on the intricacies of pediatric short-term anesthesia that completely erased my only real worry, and I can't imagine that anything anyone does to Emmett will make him one whit less handsome than his very handsome self.

Much ~ma to all of you. I am glad to hear the Emmett is dealing with everything so well. He is quite a kid.

-t, it's good to see you hear here. You and Mr. -t have been on my mind, lately.

sj, so sorry about the accident and the car, but TG sounds like such a sweetie. He may even be good enough for our sj. I'm glad no one was hurt.

Much simple-fix-ma to Emmett's nose, and calm-ma to his parents. And to JZ, although it sounds as though she already has it covered.

Kristin's mom is a role model for moms everywhere. We should clone her. Or duplicate her essence, bottle and sell it. We'd make fortunes! Maybe we could put it in spray bottles and hose down the indifferent and lackadaisical mother types. Freshen them up, impart a clue.

It's a theory.

Emmett is a gem. And David is such a good dad that I have several times embarrassed him by getting teary just watching him parent Emmett, and thinking about what a gift it is to a child to have such a father.

JZ made me tear up just a little now. I get the EXACT same way with Christopher and Owen.

Great dads are a beautiful thing to behold. Brendon is a wonderful dad compared to mine. Not that there was anything particulary bad about mine, he just didn't have the knack. I'm not being insecure at all when I say that his parenting skills are far greater than mine. The boys and I are all lucky.

Hugs to all. I'm skippy girl.

My wife says I'm a good Dad sometimes, but then she also says I'm a terrible parent at times.

I had (certifiably) the worst parents on record. Okay, maybe not the worst, I'm alive after all.

But hearing and seeing great parenting is something that never fails to choke me up. I'm so incredibly grateful for the thoughtful, kind, inventive, caring and concerned parents out there.

Thanks ALL of you for raising great kids and increasing the sum total of human contentment.

and for sharing your stories that make me vicariously so happy

Seeing good dad's in action always makes me teary eyed, because my father died when I was 2. Teacup Guy and I were out to dinner a few weeks ago and this father and daughter were out to dinner. It was a very nice restaurant and they were all dressed up, and it made me tear up a bit to watch how good the father was with his daughter. I don't think TCG understood why I was being so emotional though.