Father's Day

Sometimes I think I can actually remember it, but in reality, I just remember my dad telling me about when I was a baby standing in my crib. "Show me your toesies," he'd say. I would pull up my night gown and show him my toes. He thought I was so smart.

Actually, a baby's receptive language develops before their expressive language, (they understand a lot more than they can actually say), but I never did share that tidbit with Dad. I liked that he thought I was a wise little cracker jack at ten months old.

My dad gave me horsey back rides and wheeled me around the block in my toy wheel barrow when I was a preschooler. On hot summer nights we sat on the lawn as a family of four, or we went to Chain of Rocks Park to try to catch a breeze high atop a bluff. Frequently he treated my brother and me to foot long hot dogs, ice cream cones and real pony rides. He strummed his guitar and made up songs with my name in them. He told stories about Lazy Elmer, a grasshopper who was forever getting into trouble. I imagined Lazy Elmer as a big kid, a teenager. Lazy Elmer would not do his chores, he'd go off with his friends, then sneak into the house late at night and try not to creak the floor boards. Just when he thought he was tucked safely into his bed, his parents would tell him to wake up and take his medicine (punishment). Dad used different voices and intonation for dialogue. I can't tell you how many nights I wanted Elmer to get away with his misdeeds. But he always had to suffer the consequences of his actions ... life lessons to my little brother and me.

When I was four, I walked to Tucci's Market in Walnut Park, with my father. An older girl walked in with her father and called him Dad. I asked DADDY what Dad meant, which proved I wasn't as smart as he thought. When he explained, I was thrilled with my newfound word and over used it proudly as we walked three blocks home.

Dad had a child-like quality; he was playful, and my younger brother and I thought of him as the fun parent. Now I realize Mom HAD to be serious, she had three kids :)

On this Father's Day, I pay tribute to my late dad for making me feel special, calling me his little boss and making me feel smart. Dad had a third grade education. He couldn't read me a bedtime story, but his oral story telling kept me spell bound. He captivated old and young alike with his ghost stories.

Without either of us realizing it at the time, his stories helped me to develop into the writer I am today.

Happy Father's Day to my husband for being the very best father and grandfather. He knows he is cherished. Today our home will overflow with children and their spouses and our grandchildren. We will over eat, rehash old memories and create new ones.

Hats off to all of the men who stepped up to the plate when bio-fathers couldn't or wouldn't.

I can't belive this, but I should, because I do not believe in coincidence. I was just preparing lunch when something caught my eye, (bigger than a floater). It was a grasshopper walking up the kitchen window. Not a red-eyed cicada, but a real GRASSHOPPER. Hello, Dad.