fathers day part 2

Fathers Day round up part 2!

One of the best things about joining my husband’s family was gaining his Grandpa Hock as my Grandpa Hock. Maurice was a world war 2 veteran and part of the greatest generation— frugal and loyal and disciplined and strong caregivers. He welcomed me right into his family and sincerely loved and got to know me deeply in the short time I got to know him, which was so wonderful for me. He had a heart of gold and especially looooooved babies. In fact, I would learn that the Hock men were all incredibly tender-hearted when it came to nurturing the youngest of the family and would fight over who got to hold the babies. My father-in-law (my kids’ Grandpa Hock), spent so much of each of their baby and toddler years holding them and babysitting them and being the one who could calm them down when they were crying and fussy. Whoever said women were the only nurturers never met the Hock men. Even now, when we sit at church, we’ll have babies that crawl under benches toward our row and it’s my own Hock man who will pick them up and be thrilled to have a baby to hold and play with. Adam was thrilled we started out our family with twins because we both always had a baby to hold. I love that strength can mean so many things and that one of them can be the strength to hold the ones you love.

Happy Fathers day to all the strong men ❤️

[all prints available at: https://www.stephaniehock.com/prints/fatherhood]