Renee:
I've spent most of my life around children.
I grew up with four siblings, spent years babysitting neighborhood kids, and later found myself deeply involved in my own children's school community. Between volunteering, attending events, helping with activities, and simply being present, I had the opportunity to interact with hundreds, if not thousands, of children over the years.
And one thing became very clear to me.
Not every child has a father who shows up.
Some children are being raised by incredible single moms. Some are being raised by grandparents. Some have fathers who are physically present but emotionally absent. And some have no relationship with their fathers at all.
The older I've gotten, the more I've realized what a difference it makes when a child knows there is someone they can count on. Someone who answers the phone when they call, someone who shows up when they say they will, and someone who is simply there through all of life's ups and downs.
As Father's Day approaches, I've found myself reflecting on that and on the father my own children have been fortunate enough to grow up with.
Mark:
I often joke that I wanted to be a father long before I ever became one.
In fact, I can remember thinking about fatherhood when I was around eleven or twelve years old.
At the time, I couldn't have explained why it felt so important to me. Looking back, I understand it much better.
My parents divorced when I was young. I loved my father and never doubted that he loved me, but there were periods of my childhood when he wasn't consistently present in my life. Years later, through personal development work, I realized how much those experiences had shaped me.
I had spent much of my life trying to create the family I wished I had experienced as a child.
I wasn't consciously looking for the future mother of my children when I met Renee, but in many ways that's exactly what was happening. I wanted to build a family rooted in love, connection, and presence.
Then, just before my fortieth birthday, Eden and Xen arrived and changed my life forever.
Renee:
I remember those early years so clearly.
Like many breastfeeding moms, I was the one up throughout the night feeding babies, and exhaustion felt like a permanent state of being. But every morning, without fail, Mark would take one or both babies so I could get a little more sleep.
Sometimes he would take them outside by the pool. Sometimes he would walk around the neighborhood with them. Sometimes he would simply sit and hold them while they drifted back to sleep in his arms.
At the time, those moments probably felt ordinary.
Looking back, I realize they were anything but.
Those mornings became their time together, and they became my time to breathe. I remember being incredibly grateful, not because he was doing something extraordinary, but because he was dependable. I never had to wonder if he would step in. I knew he would be there.
One of my favorite memories from those years was watching him cuddle the babies every night before bed. That became his ritual with them. It wasn't rushed. It wasn't another item on a to-do list. It was simply time together.
And looking back now, I realize those small moments are often the ones that matter most.
Mark:
That's one of the things parenting has taught me.
When you're in the middle of it, you assume you'll remember the big milestones. The first steps, the first words, the graduations, the major accomplishments.
And you do remember those.
But what often stays with you are the everyday moments. The bedtime routines. The conversations in the car. The inside jokes. The traditions that develop without anyone intentionally creating them.
Those are the moments that quietly build trust over time.
Renee:
And now somehow those babies are sixteen.
These days, Mark is spending extra time teaching Xen to drive because my nerves simply can't take it. I tried. I really did. But there is a reason driving lessons have become a father-son activity in our house.
Meanwhile, I am still the early bird I've always been.
By the time many teenage adventures are wrapping up, I'm usually asleep. Mark is the one answering the late-night phone calls, picking Eden up from her boyfriend's family's house, making sure everyone gets home safely, and staying awake long after I've called it a night.
The kids know this too.
They know Dad will answer.
They know Dad will come get them.
They know Dad will show up.
And there is something incredibly powerful about a child having that kind of certainty.
Over the years, I've watched children grow up with all kinds of family dynamics. One thing I've learned is that children are shaped by both what they receive and what they don't.
Sometimes we learn from the examples around us, and sometimes we learn from the things we wish had been different.
Sometimes those lessons become the motivation to show up differently for the next generation.
I think that's part of what happened with Mark. He took the lessons from his own childhood and turned them into intention.
Not perfection, just intention.
An intention to be present, to stay engaged, and to build the kind of family he once dreamed about.
Mark:
One of the things I've learned over the years is that children don't need perfect parents.
What they need are parents who stay engaged, keep showing up, continue learning, and continue trying.
The goal was never perfection.
The goal was connection.
And parenting has taught me more about life than almost anything else.
It's taught me patience, humility, forgiveness, and unconditional love. It's taught me how quickly time moves and how important it is to be present while you're living it.
If I have accomplished anything meaningful as a father, I hope it's that my children know they are loved and that they can count on me.
Renee:
As entrepreneurs, our lives have never looked particularly traditional.
There have been evening networking calls, weekend events, retreats, travel, launches, and plenty of moments when business and life have blurred together.
But through all of it, one thing has remained consistent.
If the kids need Dad, he's there.
That doesn't mean he's perfect. None of us are. But there has never been a question about whether he loves them or whether they can count on him.
And after watching so many children grow up without that certainty, I don't take it for granted.
Because sometimes the most meaningful thing a father can do isn't something dramatic. It's answering the phone. It's showing up for the pickup. It's teaching a teenager to drive. It's holding a baby so a tired mom can sleep.
It's being there again and again, year after year.
Mark and Renee:
This Father's Day, we're grateful for all the dads, stepdads, grandfathers, mentors, coaches, and father figures who continue to show up in the lives of the people who need them.
Because while the world often celebrates the big moments, we've come to believe that fatherhood is built in the small ones.
A ride home becomes trust.
A driving lesson becomes confidence.
A bedtime cuddle becomes security.
A conversation becomes connection.
And over time, those small moments become a relationship.
Happy Father's Day.