That Was a Nice Father’s Day…
That was a nice Father’s Day.
For whatever reason, the last few Father’s Days I’ve been traveling to Utah. I think it’s just been timing. School gets out, a week or two passes, and I’m on the road. Usually, I leave on Saturday and wind up missing Father’s Day entirely. This year was different. Because of a family trip later in the summer, I’m heading west at a different time. Going forward, I think I might stick around more often.
First off, I slept in. Not late. I’m old.
Still, it was nice to sleep in and not have to worry about training. No alarm. No long run. No bike ride hanging over my head.
After coffee and the crossword, my wife and I went to a yoga class at our gym. I possess neither strength nor flexibility, which is exactly why I’ve decided I need to add yoga and/or strength training to my routine. For me, though, it was also another hour I got to spend with my wife. I know. I’m a simp.
We did a chore or two on the way home and then had a nice family brunch with everyone. After that, my wife, the boys and I played Scattergories. I don’t know if there is any scientific evidence that Scattergories improves family relationships, but there should be.
Later, my wife and I went to a cooking class. The topic was smashburgers, but it was really about a lot more than that: grinding meat, making buns, pickles, aioli, and a wedge salad. It was a very nice afternoon and, once again, a few more hours spent with my wife.
When we got home, we watched a harmless rom-com before bed.
Honestly, hanging out with my wife and kids was all I wanted anyway. That’s usually the answer if you ask me what I want.
That said, I also got some great gifts.
A gift card to a new deli in town. Bags and bags of Jujy Fruits and Jelly Beans. My family knows me well.
But the standout was something my daughter made. She created a large framed collage of my life. Apparently, she raided “the box” in the basement, that mysterious storage container where important things go to be forgotten for twenty years.
The collage included my high school suspension letter, my college ID, military dog tags and awards, paperwork from my appointment as a prosecutor, letters from former students, and photographs spanning decades all the way to the present day.
It was spectacular.
Not that I didn’t also appreciate the future pastrami on rye.
What struck me most was seeing all those pieces of my life together in one place. Most of us don’t spend much time looking backward. We just move on to the next thing. The next job. The next project. The next worry. My daughter took all those scattered pieces and turned them into a story.
Maybe that’s one of the gifts children give their parents as they get older. They remind us that our lives look different from the outside than they do from the inside.
From the inside, I mostly remember mistakes, wrong turns, and things I should have done better. From the outside, she saw a life worth celebrating.
All in all, it was a great day.