Picking only one or two childhood or adulthood experiences wouldn't capture why my father is my dad and why it's been amazing to be raised by him. Here are a few of my favorite memories/things about my dad in no particular order:
He always coaches everything, whether you want him to or not.
- A couple of years ago my brother and my dad went on a road trip together. My brother wanted to go run some laps in the hotel pool, my father insisted on going with him to life guard as there was no one on duty. He spent the entire time my brother was swimming walking the length of the pool and critiquing his technique.
He always shows up to support you in everything, no matter how bad you are at it, whether you want him to or not.
- As a teenager my sister was embarrassed by my parents coming out to her soccer games and wanted them to pretend that they didn't know her. My father bought my mother a custom sweatshirt that said "I'm not E's Mother" on it.
- When I was 12 I was a terrible runner*, yet for some reason (probably at the encouragement of my dad) I decided to run for a distance event for cross-country running. When I was miserably last and walking and wanted to give up, my dad and my sister showed up to jog along beside me to cheer me on and get me to finish. It also delayed the ridicule, cause no one is going to smack talk you in front of your dad.
This is the card that I got for my dad this year. I bought it in Seattle, but you can get it, or other cool cards at: http://www.etsy.com/shop/BettyTurbo
He made sure that I knew how to change a tire and check the oil on a car before I was ever able to drive on my own.**
He makes amazing breakfast & he BBQs great/ most of the time.
- His back-bacon and egg English Muffins are to die for.
- If ever my dad is cooking and the food turns out poorly, rest assured it's because he got caught up in a game of catch, baseball or soccer with his kids, grandchildren or a combination of both. So your meal may be burnt, but it's burnt with love.
He makes you do adult stuff & reminds you about it A LOT.
- Because of my dad I remember to check my steering fluid, I file my taxes on time and we actually purchased a living will kit on Groupon.***
His passion about books and reading.
- I find it random that my father made me read Animal Farm, at age ten, and write him a book report about it - in the Summer. Now he and I share the same satirical taste in certain books and give each other some great recommendations.
The way he pretended to be Frankenstein when my mother wasn't home.
- When we were little and my mom was out, sometimes my father would pretend to be a monster. He'd walk around the house, not speaking, sticking out his bottom teeth and bump into you a lot. It was never scary, just incredibly annoying, as "Frankenstein" ran into the toys we were playing with and slowly chased us around the house.
Yesterday, Chris was playing with Molly on the floor and she got distracted, ignoring him for a toy that we call Astronaut Comic. Chris pretended to be a monster, took Astronaut Comic in his mouth and started bashing him against the side of the coffee table while he grunted and roared loudly. He had Molly's attention and she was thrilled to be spending time with her dad. Chris, I guess you make the cut.
Happy Father's Day, to my dad, Chris and all other Father's!
*Not that I'm a fabulous runner today, but I'm not doing it at the ridicule of other midst-pubescent middle-schoolers anymore. My treadmill doesn't judge me.
**This shamed a couple of ex-boyfriends who had to step aside while I took care of road problems on my own.***I haven't filled it out yet, and am reminded of this constantly...But yes, it will be done before the end of the summer, I promise.
No comments:
Post a Comment