My father is a man of mystery. He really is. I think he sort of enjoys and nurtures that part of himself. He likes to leave us guessing. So, I am here to crack the code. Because, I know how curious you are.
Insights about My Father
1. He used to fly fighter jets. He used to do loop-de-loops in the sky in a tiny plane to amaze the audience below. But he also had a reputation of being a very slow driver. Once my mom and I were creeping along a winding Vermont rode behind 5 or 6 cars and we thought Dad must be on his way home from work, leading this pack of slow driving. But, it wasn't him, it was a hearse. That is how slow he drives.
2. When he laughs, sometimes you cannot tell. He makes his hiccup laugh noise and you have to look right away to see that he is smiling too, or you'll miss it and wonder if you imagined the whole thing.
3. He plays games on his Blackberry during church.
4. He is a cook. He doesn't follow a recipe, he just gets in the kitchen and cooks. His day to cook is Sunday. During the winter he makes soups and in the summer he grills meat. He loves food, even though he only eats one meal a day. My favorite of his concoctions is his egg nog. It is amazing. It tastes like melted vanilla ice cream. Oh, and he hums while he cooks...but I'm not sure he knows that.
5. This hard military man has a soft spot for Andrew. I mean, a big and very soft spot. He loves that Andrew is perpetually up to no good, loves how Andrew puts away food like a professional linebacker and is always watching to see what crazy stunt Andrew will pull next. At the beach this summer Andrew helped himself to french fries from my dad's plate. The rest of us got nervous and wide-eyed. You don't take things from my dad's plate. But, my dad, raised his eyebrows, turned and looked at Andrew. "Excuse me?!?!" Andrew gave my dad his mischievous grin and my dad loved the whole thing. I love watching my dad watch Andrew.
6. His favorite day is Christmas. He sits in his chair, smiling for hours while my mom swoons over the gifts he's given her. He loves giving her gifts and he does do an amazing job. He should consider writing a book, "A Well Gifted Wife" except other men might not appreciate it too much.
7. His least favorite day is today: his birthday. So, please, please, do NOT say Happy Birthday to him. I think for him, the perfect birthday would be the one that his office staff forgot.
But, as his daughter I am entitled:
Happy Birthday, Dad.
and, just in case you wondering, I am keeping up with my December Daily Journal!
3 comments:
Such an interesting glimpse into the mysterious father figure of your stories. Great first picture. :)
I am not at that blogger retreat you mentioned. I am just feeling sluggish and wintery and not quite myself lately. Maybe it's that not seeing the sun for too many days in a row. Or the peculiar effect of having to wear my down jacket and hat and mittens and scarf and still ending up with cold extremities. How do I do this for 5 months?
What a cute dad you have. I never knew!
By the way, Anne and I are sitting around retreating like crazy, waiting for ya'll to show up. You are both very, very late.
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