Sunday, June 20, 2004
Happy Father's Day
Things my dad passed on to me: love for music, seafood, sports, teasing children, family games, swimming, a competitive spirit
Things dad didn't pass on: golf (never mastered the swing), billiards (never mastered the follow-through or position play), rooting for the Yankees
After I finished college, we evolved our own Father's Day tradition. I would take him to one of the local restaurants that featured all-you-can-eat shrimp on the menu. Often, these were on the salad bar, so we would get three plates: two loaded up with the feast, and one for the shells. After I had moved away from Rochester, these feasts were often the occasion for catching up a little. I emphasize "a little" because dad, being born in 1913, was of the generation that didn't share or reveal much. Heartfelt conversations were minimal.
A few months after Anita and I were married, we were heading out for some Saturday shopping. I mentioned I needed to check a gift store for a Father's Day card. My wife stopped in her tracks and looked at me strangely. "What," I thought, "It's not too early, is it?"
Not exactly too early. But my father had died just six weeks before our wedding. Strange that my Father's Day routine was so embedded in my thinking: get a card early, make plans for a dinner, resurface good memories.
I hear much of my dad in what I say and how I say things to Brittany. Mostly good, but I note my dad's occasional impatience from time to time. Mostly good, I hope.
May your Father's Day's be complete with the good things of nurturing children. May God guide you with all the graces of caring for and protecting the weak, educating the innocent, consoling the sad, and sacrificing for the future. God help us all.
