On Fathers and Yes, GetFresh is not just a figment of our imagination!

Happy Father's Day!  And an especial Happy Father's Day to Patricia's Husband, (Sorry Patricia - sometimes I just can't resist being a cheeky monkey!) who will be celebrating again! :-)

I wondered if I would feel sad that this is my first Father's Day without my Dad.  Those firsts are always sad.  However, I will shamelessly steal the quote my friend AudreyBella, who knows very well what I am talking about, has on her blog:

Wise words!

Me being me, I like to think that my Dad (and my Mom) is always with me and there were many times in the last few months that I would pray for guidance on things and find that decisions that I thought would be too hard or difficult to make would come easily.  There is always a little voice telling us what is the right thing to do on certain issues; sometimes I have chosen to ignore that voice because I might not have felt brave enough to do what it was I needed to do.  One of the gifts of my dad's passing is that I have bravery in spades now!  I am Carpe Diem'ing all over the place!

Our fathers are different from our mothers.  My father related to us often more as buddies at a certain point, than creatures with emotional lives with depths to plumb.  My dad was one of the original Keep Calm and Carry On types, and he was most happiest when he could provide middle age guy advice: when to cut a tree, how to change a tire, buy car, etc,.  When I was a kid, it seemed like my father was always working and I think he was; he was either doing his job or doing chores around the house.  Once or twice a year, he would take us on vacation and that's when he would become a different man; the man who liked to shop (Happy Father's Day Mr. BP!), tell stories and have a few drinks.  His favourite thing to do every year was to take us to see the Ringling Brothers and Barnum and Bailey Circus in Boston, which usually happened during the long weekend in May.  He never got tired of the clowns and the tigers.  My father believed in magic and Santa Claus and clowns and hard work.  Not bad things to pass along to your kids!

I am lucky that I live with a great Father every day.  Barry is more patient than I am and like my dad does not feel the need to try and plumb the emotional depths of his children (he has me to do that!).  He is the one they watch certain movies with - the three of them can quote whole pages of dialogue from Pineapple Express - and the one that is most calm in any situation with them.  They love him dearly, even if they aren't up yet to tell him!

Thank you Barry for being a great father - I love you!

And Happy Father's Day to all Dad's today - those who are still with us and those who have gone on ahead to make things comfortable for us...

********************

You didn't think I would fail you again, did you?

Miss GetFresh came back yesterday (the coffee and muffins did not scare her off last week) and we had a wonderful lunch Al fresco out in the yard with her and her lovely husband, who has the best and most mellifluous voice!

GF is one of those people who just make you feel like you have known her all her life.  She is funny and smart and thoughtful.  My son was particularly thankful that she came, as she arrived with jam and homemade oatcakes, which I think he ate more than half off for dessert (matched in quantity only by his father!).

She has kept her anonymity quite well, but did agree to let me post a couple of photos of the two of us yesterday.  She complained about her hair afterwards when she saw the photos (but doesn't she have great hair?) and I complained about how chubby my cheeks looked (don't I have nice chubby cheeks?) but really, she is a sister from another mother:

Louis, I think this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship...

Isn't she fab?

Have a great Sunday all!  Stay Safe out there!