Father's Day 2011

Growing up, I remember my dad not liking Father’s Day, calling it a pretend holiday created by Hallmark to make money. As he wasn’t close with his own dad, but my mom was close with hers, the family would spend Father’s Day Eve with Grandpa and Grandma B, and the actual holiday with our mom and dad.

Our celebrations were fun and simple when I was little, usually spent fishing and canoeing at Cedar Lake and grilling on the beach for dinner. Gifts and cards were always hand made, even though Dad would tell us each year he didn’t want anything; he already had everything he wanted or needed.

This year, as in years’ past, my Dad as well as Jim told us they wanted nothing for Father’s Day, and as in years’ past, Jordan, Jamie and I ignored them both. Jordan and Jamie created cards by hand and with computer assistance, and with the held of PhotoShop I created a photo collage for Jim and Dad with a handful of my all-time favorite family pictures.

We arrived at Mom and Dad’s for a late afternoon barbeque to a picture-perfect garden -- both of them had obviously been very busy over the past few weeks, creating flowerpots and hanging baskets and planting summer fruits and vegetables to convert their enormous backyard patio to a beautiful summer oasis.

Topics of conversation ranged from Dad’s healing eye to Jordan’s recently-removed arm cast, family gossip and Arnold Schwarzenegger’s taste in women. Jamie brought his skateboard and demonstrated new tricks, and I think we convinced Mom and Dad to rent both “Black Swan” and “The Boxer.”

I shared that my blog was doing well, and had established a solid following in twenty-one countries, recently adding India, Ukraine and Mexico to the list. Both asked how I came up with my ideas, and in exchange gave me a boatload of new topics and material that I could use in the weeks and months ahead.

After a great afternoon and early evening before the mosquitoes arrived to eat us alive and/or carry us away for future meals, we gave kisses goodbye and headed back to Plainfield for the night. And as I noted the smiles on Jim and Dad’s faces as they exchanged goodbye hugs, I knew both dads had the Father’s Day they really wanted, spending the day with their families.