Best Father's Day Ever

There are so many ways to end the sentence, "When I get to Heaven...." Well, I've added another: When I get to Heaven, if watching videos of my life is an option, today will be one I watch over and over.

My children both still like to spend time with me, so we were planning on lunch today. As usual, the "where" was a big discussion, and we finally settled on Joe's Crab Shack in Newport. I didn't have much input in that, and that's OK, because I knew I would be with the whole family. We might not have as many "family traditions" as some families, but whenever possible we get together to eat and celebrate the milestone days. One Father's Day tradition that we had for a few years was that Jen would take, first Jolie and then both girls, to have pictures taken, and then she would use one of the prints to get me a Father's Day tie tesselated with the picture of the girls. I think I have six or seven of those. I was disappointed when that little tradition stopped, partly because annual sittings for the girls stopped happening, plus I think the place that did them went out of business. But I was looking forward to the lunch and observing my children interact with each other and my grandchildren.

The day started, as many do, with a facebook posting, and mine for the day was "blessed to have two children who celebrate their Dad pretty much all year long." Got a couple of affirming comments from a couple of my "other" girls who are a big part of my life, tho far away geographically. (North Carolina and Bakersfield).

Sunday School has become a real highlight and we had an enjoyable time affirming each other and discussing Bob's 60-mile walk yesterday (see the link on my FB page if you haven't already done so).

Met the kids for lunch, had an enjoyable time watching them and watching the wide variety of boats enjoying Newport (or Balboa) Bay while we were eating. When we were done, Jen set a gift bag in front of me, and I could see a couple of cards. This has also become a tradition, one card from Jen and Jeff and one from the girls.

I opened the one addressed to "Grandpa Rick" first-- they were going to see Grandpa Chuck and Grandpa Woody later. Here's what the card said: "Grandpa, if the wishing star offered to give us either a million dollars or the greatest grandpa in the world, we'd take the million dollars...pause...'cause we've already got the greatest grandpa in the world." Jeslyn added, "I love you grandpa Rick. You are the best grandpa ever." So what if it was redundant, one can't hear that too much! Jolie, now 10, wrote, "I love ya, gramps. You're awesome. Happy Father's Day. Jolie". Now that was cool on so many levels. I don't think she's ever called me gramps, or spelled "you" as "ya". Just reminding me we're both getting older. Note also that she said "you're" instead of "your". This puts her ahead of about 75% of high school America in proper grammar usage. Then of course there is also the recognition that her grampa is awesome.

Then came the one addressed to Dad. "Dad, every year you say something like, 'Oh, I don't want anything for Father's Day,' or "don't go spending any money on me.' Well, I just have one thing to say.....no problem. (by the way, could you reimburse me for this card? Also, the card shop was next to a shoe store, so I'll need a little extra.) Happy Father's Day from your daughter." Then Jen added, "A little funny this year, but the real message is you're always there for us and we love you, Jeff and Jen." Note first of all, again the correct use of the words "your" and "you're". I learned her good!! She managed to say with humor the message she sends me often--she can count on me. For this Dad, nothing greater in the world can be said to me.

I then noticed there was something still in the bag---and teared up when I saw a tie with the current edition of Jolie and Jeslyn's faces on it. No matter that I very rarely have occasion to wear a tie any more. No matter that I see the girls almost every day. What matters is that this was my daughter acknowledging that special bond that she and I share, and that making her daddy happy is still important to her after all these years. And this she has done. Again. We have to attend at least one formal dinner on our cruise in August, and part of my wardrobe for the evening has been established.

I've left out Tim and Anne so far, but they are a big part of my life and were a big part of my day. Again, it doesn't matter that I only saw them yesterday--I went out there for lunch and to patch some drywall for them. But they wanted to be there for the traditional lunch today, and I looked forward to their being there. So much of Tim's life is his love for movies, and we have shared many a special occasion together in the theatre. So off the 4 of us went to see Toy Story 3--Jen and the girls had seen it Friday. What a wonderful "dessert" for the feast day that was Father's Day for me. Jen called it a perfect movie on Friday, and I couldn't agree more. It really isn't a children's movie in the sense that children can't see beyond the plot to the core values that are preached in the movie--loyalty, family, friendship, and so many others. So, as my daughter's tie gift brought me to tears, so did this movie that I attended with my son and surrogate daughter. One of the added traditions and joys we have is the ritual of "debriefing" after watching a movie together. This time, there were not many critical comments from any of us (unlike the last Indiana Jones!) and I was left to marvel at the depth of my son's knowledge of roles, characters, background, etc, that is the result of his lifelong love for the movies.

So today was another, "Why me, Lord?" day. Why am I blessed with such great friends, a great wife, great kids and grandkids, and life experiences? Don't have an answer, but it's a great ride.