I have a crush.

(Michael falls out of chair.)

I have a crush on men with children. Well, not all men with children, but men who are great dads. The guys that you can tell just by looking at the way they hold their son’s hand as they walk down the sidewalk that he would give his life for that little peanut.

One of my coworkers, N, has a three-year-old son and when N talks about him I melt into a puddle of mush. You can hear the happiness in his voice and tell by the way his eyes light up that his son is his world. Every other day there’s a new picture he’s excited to show us or an anecdote he has to share. If you could read our minds, all the females in the room are thinking one big collective “awwww!”

And then there’s my former boss/forever friend, Mike. One of the things I really miss about working with him is hearing daily stories about his kids. And when they used to come by the office, whether it was just a pit stop on the way to play or for a family outing for ice cream, they brought joy to the whole office. Mike writes openly about his children and today I nearly fell out of my chair from all the cuteness. Go look!

Michael and I don’t have an exact time nailed down as to when we’ll start trying for children. We have a general idea, though. And as much as I can’t wait to be a mother, I am so looking forward to seeing him as a father. Aside from the fact that he’s going to be amazing at it, there’s something so sexy about a big, tall man holding a tiny baby in his arms.

But until that time comes, I will continue to crush on the various men I come across in my daily travels. The ones with a baby strapped to their chests koala-style, the ones giving piggy back rides down the street, the ones pushing swings, playing catch, going on hikes and everything in between.