Father’s Day comes so quickly on the heels of Mother’s Day that it passes by with no more than a sideways glance. It’s like the awards category that doesn’t make the main stage at the Oscars – the dad equivalent of the “Academy Award for Best Use of Technology in a Foreign Film.” You know, the category only the recipients tear up over.

But, really, we ought to celebrate dads for a whole lot of reasons. Here are just ten.

1. He allowed you yell expletives at him in the labor room. He let you squeeze his hand through contractions like he’s your opponent at Taekwondo. And he didn’t even wince through it. He may have passed out. But he didn’t wince.
2. He has ninja baby swaddling skills. There was absolutely no way your baby burrito could Houdini her way out of that dad-certified wrap.
3. He’s willing to trek to the medicine cabinet half asleep and measure out the grape-flavored nastiness at 3 a.m. Sure, he left the cabinet door open. Sure, there’s sticky stuff all over the counter tops. But hey, he’s still your knight in not-so-shiny boxers.
4. He does the best voices in stories. There’s nothing more endearing than dada doing a princess impersonation while he reads bedtime stories. Yup, you want to make that Dora the Explorer book disappear, but as long as he’s handling bedtime, you’ll put up with “Swiper, no swiping!” a bajillion times.
5. He makes the perfect human play structure-cum-trampoline for the little peeps. It spares you from being a somewhat squishy rock climbing wall. Most of the time.
6. His man cave went from being a tribute to rock legends and baseball heroes to a Thomas the Train shrine. Or, worse still, like Barbie, pink unicorns and a bunch of trolls had a party in there, all night, every night.
7. He’s excited about the same things that get the kids excited: Video games, Lego Star Wars, and cars that spin round and round on a never-ending loop. Evidently, all of that is fun for him, too. And that’s actually kinda cute.
8. He reins you in. When you’re in the midst of throwing a Pinterest-worthy party for your precious snippet and have spent four hours agonizing over napkins (Chevron or striped? Fuchsia or Mustard?), he reminds you that your two-year-old just wants to play and eat cake.
9. He pours you a glass of wine. And turns on Netflix. Add a foot rub and a “How was your day?” to that and he wins “Dad of the Year” hands down.
10. He may not be doing it “right” (aka: your way), but he’s still doing it. Yeah, the diaper is on backward and your toddler’s outfit makes her look like a cross between a pumpkin and an escaped convict. Dads are not perfect. And, you know for a fact that moms aren’t either.

Thank him for that avant-garde ensemble the baby is wearing. And for the diaper that miraculously held its contents in. That fact alone, as you well know, is reason enough to celebrate.