We made beer coasters for Father’s Day in art studio and on each one the kids wrote what they love about their dad.
They were a treat to read
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Tag Archives: father’s day
empty seat
So I told you we were going to have a great time father’s day and we did.
My girls made me breakfast (homemade scones)
– yes I had to ask for it, yes I threw in a little guilt over the un- spectacular attention I received on Mother’s day
and served it in our pretty new backyard
then we took pizza, ice cream and cones and raspberry smoothies to my dad and ate lunch outside with him. I told him why I thought he was a great dad. I am not sure he caught any of it but I said it all out loud.
Then we went home and all had naps (this never happens). I took a 15 minute one on the couch with back door wide open and front door too (love this), listening to the buzz of lawnmowers and cars and birds, until a friend dropped by for lemonade. Oh lovely old fashioned Sunday afternoon. I had all the creases from the couch on my face while we drank it. She left. I went back to couch, impersonating dads everywhere again. BFF called. Two more friends dropped in to wish me a happy father’s day and I had to explain sleep creases on face and bed head.
Later we went out for an early dinner. We went to a family club and sat outside. There were a few single dads there with their children but mainly it was a sea of families. This would have been hard for all of us several years ago.
But today we had a perfect time.
Girls were joking that maybe everyone thought we were mean because we had the empty seat and left dad at home. I said, smiling, that we could say ” he just stepped away for a bit”. Daughter said – ‘Well I would just say ‘give my mom a few years and the seat will be taken’.
I love being their dad.
Check out my other new post- so many shoes so little time- by clicking here. No it is not about shoes.
stick- to -it -iveness
(I am reposting this one in honour of Father’s Day yesterday- hope all of you had a good one )
Because women love to talk and repeat themselves and then talk some more, the lessons from mom are very high in volume. So much so that they sometimes fade in importance, or the child is confused as to the origin and sometimes the point of the lesson. Dad, on the other hand, typically says fewer things, is around a little less and his lessons hold more weight maybe because they are not anchored by clean your room, brush your teeth and sit up straight.
A dad will teach you how to snap your fingers, whistle, whittle wood, make a fire, laugh at yourself, drink a beer, blame the dog when you pass gas, change a tire, ride a bike, do something every day that scares you and throw not like a girl.
My dad taught me how to listen, look people dead in the eye, keep my word, empathize with and cheer for the underdog, smoke a pipe, call a spade a spade to its face, give nicknames to people you care about, push, tease, ask for, and swim underwater for the whole length of the pool. But the thing he held in highest esteem was something he called ‘sticktoitiveness’. This is not giving up or giving in no matter how tough it gets. Once in a job that I could not make work, I took him out for lunch, presented the whole thing and basically asked permission to give up.
Later when I had to give up on my marriage, stick- to- it -iveness made me stay and try until it almost killed me. However, I never need to wonder if I did everything I could. I cannot regret or think I gave up too easily.
At that point, I could not discuss it intelligently with my father as he was already in the later stages of Dementia. One day recently he watched me intently as I was writing this blog and he asked what I was writing about. I told him separation and divorce. He said ” Oh my, I do not want to get divorced”. I said ‘you won’t dad but I am’. He said “It must have been very hard for you to give up.”
At my wedding, my father turned to my brand new husband and said quietly “You are going to love living with her.” Of all the things he ever said about me or to me this was the very highest compliment.
Happy Father’s Day, dad. I loved living with you too.
Are you Lucky? Check out my latest blog post on Urbanmoms- I think you will like it.