My Dad

This year’s father’s day had me reflecting. My husband and I along with my brother and his girlfriend went to our parent’s house on Saturday to celebrate the day. Mom got lobsters which were awesome. I was mostly in pain because I hadn’t slept much and walked tons due to Relay for Life. I feel bad that I had to lie down and rest and wasn’t my usual self, but I hope my dad understands.

 

There’s been a few times in this blog that I’ve mentioned how lucky I am in the parent department. Both of my parents are amazing people and I get along with them so well (even more now than growing up). My parents were high school sweethearts and I’ve always been so jealous that they were able to find each other so young and pretty much grow up together.

 

But anyway, this is about Dad. My stubbornness comes from him. We used to get into these big arguments where in the end, we’d forget where we started. Soon I learned how to control that – I pride myself on how easily I can flip his switch and his face will get red and he goes on and on. It’s actually quite powerful come to think of it (hi dad!). I am a lot like my dad. We both get passionate about politics, the wrongs in the world, etc. We are also very introverted and need time to ourselves which not many people understand. Though he has gotten better and has spent the last few years being a bit more adventurous.

 

Let me step back a bit. When I was born, my dad was pretty young. To that end, he loved having me do stupid stuff for a laugh. Once he gave me a red onion and told me it was an apple. Of course I took a big bite! To this day I love onions so who knows. Also, when I was in the 1^st grade, we learned about the pilgrims coming over the Mayflower. Excitedly I told my dad that the pilgrims drank beer on the boat. My dad asked me “Well, what kind of beer?” Perplexed, I told him I didn’t know. He urged me to ask my teacher Mrs. Little (he also had me ask her if she was related to Rich Little but sadly, she wasn’t). The next day I marched up to Mrs. Little and said, “What kind of beer did the pilgrims drink on the Mayflower?” If memory serves me right she said “Budweiser”. My dad was thrilled.

 

And oh did I think my dad was the smartest person who walked the earth. He would sing silly songs that I was sure he made up. He’d open the fridge and sing “Yes! We have no bananas. We have no bananas today!” Found out years later that he in fact did not create that song and that the song predated him by about 35 years. Also, often times before bed he would say “it’s bedtime for Bonzo” which was the greatest thing ever. It wasn’t until I said that when staying at my friend Liz’s house (who I met in college – just to give you a sense of how long it was) and she told me it was from a Ronald Reagan movie.

 

To be fair, my dad never claimed to have come up with these things on his own. I was just a girl who thought her dad was a genius.

 

As I got older and went through some heartbreak, my dad always had something wise to say. My last heartbreak in particular, I remember sitting outside on our old glider and he said that I shouldn’t rush into things. Take things slow. That’s precisely what I did in my next relationship. Things just felt more natural that way – there’s no rush in things.

 

About 9 months ago, my dad saw me marry the man that I took things slow with and just let things flow with. He couldn’t be happier. And on his 50^th birthday this past winter, I surprised Dad with my (formerly) estranged brother. We’re back to being a family again.

 

And now I’m still a girl who thinks her dad is a genius.