Not too long ago I ‘co-wrote’ an entry on the topic of Mother’s Day.  It was a fitting task to join forces with the girls to come up with words and sentiments that truly capture how they feel about their exceptional mom.  Well, it would seem rather vain to go through that exercise again, having them prose on about how hysterically funny, remarkably strong, wonderfully talented and shockingly athletic their father is.  No, vanity is not what I’m about here, so on to plan ‘B’

I still wanted today’s post to be in recognition of Father’s Day and to still focus on a few special words and sentiments that followed the same general format that I did those few weeks ago.  But, instead of having the focus be on myself or the words coming from our daughters, the alternative solution and focus seemed rather obvious.   And so, Dad, while words alone can’t capture the defining moments of my childhood, nor can a few sentences express how grateful I am for how you raised us,  I do hope that they can at least bring a few good memories and warmth to your day.

MY DAD IS

Thoughtful
Attentive
Caring
Funny
A great grocery shopper
Organized
Patient
Hard working
Full of love for his entire family
A great driver

Fun to play cards with, though very difficult to beat at Euchre.  Or Poker.  Or Cribbage.  You know what? Better just to avoid placing bets on any card games altogether.

Very elusive when it comes to photos.  Try writing a post about someone who avoids photos!  Well-played, dad.  Well-played.

I AM GRATEFUL FOR MY DAD BECAUSE HE:

Taught me the value of hard work, patience, and not giving up.

He brought home Three Amigos the same day it came out on VHS and I was so excited that I rushed through my dinner so we could watch it right away.

Brought us camping every year, and I only now recognize how much work that actually required.  To this very day, with all of my culinary experience, there a very few meals that can compare to a can of beans cooked over an open fire.

Not only taught me to throw a baseball, but he spent most nights after dinner, and a long, long, long day at work, playing catch on the street in front of our house.

Always made (and continues to make) time for family.  Owning a business is not easy, I understand that now, but after the longest days and weeks, he would still come home and spend quality time with us.  Today, he takes care of the girls, always offers to bring us groceries and supplies if we’re sick and can’t leave the house and genuinely makes an effort to keep the family connected.

Treats my mom with the utmost respect and love.  For 40 years I have witnessed the compassion, care and respect they show for one another.  It has shaped the man that I am and how I treat my partnership with Alison today.

WITH MY DAD I LIKE TO:

Play poker.  I really miss playing poker.  Let’s play poker.

Play pool.  Not only do I enjoy playing pool together, it also brings back some of the later memories of Grandpa and how you would go play with him every Wednesday.  There’s an inspiration in those actions, Dad. Thank you.

Build things.  We’ve tackled a few pretty cool projects in the backyard that I am very proud of and thoroughly enjoyed taking on as a duo.  Every time the girls go into their playhouse or I get eggs from the coop, I think of my dad and that’s pretty cool.

Just sit and enjoy a conversation from time to time.

Eat 1/4 chicken dinners.

Watch movies.

A FEW RANDOM MEMORIES

Camping, that’s definitely one of the more pronounced memories when it comes to my dad and my childhood.  It was something I looked forward to every year as this special time when it would just be the Bean Boys hanging out and exploring.  I vividly recall sitting in the back of the Merv’s Electronics van as we made our way to Earl Rowe: it seemed like the trip took so long we must have been headed to a different country altogether, and that made it even more special.  He would wake up before my brother and I each morning to ensure there was a fire going and breakfast started.  I think in part he enjoyed some quiet time for himself, but even more I believe he wanted to make sure that we were well taken care of when we woke up, because that’s who he is.

After the Muddy Duck closed down (or perhaps even in tandem while it was still in business), dinner out meant Swiss Chalet and 1/4 chicken dinners.  It was especially great because I got to order a Shirley Temple with my meal, complete with cherry and tiny little umbrella.  This calls up memories of my family as a whole, but my dad in particular because I followed his lead in the restaurant (except for the Shirley Temple), and who knows what kind of zany person I’d be today if he stuck with ordering soup.  The best part: for desert it was always pecan pie.  I love pecan pie to this day and it’s because of the thoughts it stirs up sitting in those booths back in my home town.

Installing satellites and antennas.   Our family owned and electronics store and part of the business was service and installs on antennas.  For the longest time by brother and dad would be the ones to head out on these adventures, namely because it involved climbing great heights and using tools I wasn’t familiar with.  When the day came, however, that I got to start going on these calls, it was pretty amazing.  Once again, I was not just spending time with my dad but learning from him and seeing how he could navigate the process seamlessly.  I learned a lot of patience from this process and, even though we may just be streaming everything these days,  still use the skill sets learned from those outings.

There are countless others that I could recall, but as I sit here and enjoy my coffee this morning, those are the ones that seemed to come to mind right away.  Thank you for all of them, Dad.

To all of the dads out there, I hope you have a lovely day filled with recognition, admiration and, perhaps most importantly, some time to yourself.  Now, just before we sign off, I would be in trouble if I didn’t pass along few more words from the grandchildren in the room…

GRANDPA IS

Playful

Very, very,very funny.  Like, he is soooo funny.

A trampoline.  He let’s us jump on him all of the time

The best patient because we like to play doctor and he is always the sick person so that makes him a good patient

The best because we always get to watch movies with him.  We actually get to watch two movies, one at the night and then another one the next day and we also get treats when we watch movies and we get to pick the treats but it’s usually popcorn.  Well, it’s not actually popcorn, it’s only kind of like popcorn.  Like, they don’t put it in the microwave, it’s just in a bag and you open it and then you eat it.  It’s yellow and it’s all crazy looking.  Grandma gets us treats too.

Happy Father’s Day, with love.