June 16, 2007
FATHER'S DAY
i don't have any father, biological or otherwise, that i care to contact and wish a happy father's day. but i celebrate father's day, too. they say you can't choose your family; but in a way, you can. you can choose your mate. you can choose the father / mother of your children. today i celebrate my choice. i chose the father of my children well.
this is a picture of bill finishing up the crib he made for our babies to sleep in. this was a good thing. the other side of the coin -- you have to take the good with the, well, unusual -- is that the finish wasn't dry when i brought our first home from the hospital. heh.
as you faithful readers know, bill's kind of, well, different. he's taught our boys many things. some of them not so good. most of all, he's taught them how to be good men. not in the traditional sense. in the most important sense. here are some of the lessons he's taught our boys.
you CAN reach cleve by going the OTHER way around the lake -- not the easy should-have-been-a-4-hour-drive-home-from-toronto way, but in the 12-hour-hey-we're-bound-to-reach-cleveland way.
there is only one way to eat ice cream properly. and that's straight from the container
fire works and rocket lego cars are science, dude
sometimes not telling mom is the best thing for her
men can kiss their dads, grandfathers, and even brothers in public
how to say "I love you" and mean it
how to stand by those you love when things get rough
the who, clapton, hendrix, robert johnson, etc., etc.
how to question authority
when NOT to question authority
how to tie a windsor knot
how to iron a shirt
how to write a proper paragraph
how to pound a nail
how to make a bed with hospital corners
how not to sweat the small stuff -- she does it enough for all of us
real men DO AND CAN cry
how to recognize the big dipper and venus
how to see a science lesson everywhere
when it's safe to wear your boxers outside
how to jump a car, change a tire, drive a stick shift
how to throw down the occasional or frequent bird
when not to throw down the bird
speed limits are suggestions
sometimes police require that you follow their suggestions
Posted by Stacey at June 16, 2007 11:33 PMHe's done a lot of good there; I'll have to see what list I come up with for Rob.
Posted by: Anji at June 17, 2007 12:41 PMWhat a nice tribute and it's true the spouse we choose to be the father/mother is very important.
Posted by: RC of strangeculture at June 17, 2007 02:55 PMWhat an awesome post! Of course we all know that everything those boys learned about vomiting in parking lots came from dear ol' mom!
;)
You guys rock! ALL OF YOU!
Posted by: KathyHowe at June 18, 2007 10:02 PMIt sounds as if you picked a good husband and father.
Cas
And I think the lessons he teaches sound great.