Father's Day

Along the lines of "things that happened a while ago, but we wanted to share," we had a really nice Father's Day last month.

It started on Saturday night with a daddy-daughter dance. A parks and rec department from one of the townships hosted it and opened it up to the whole community. Thing 1 and I got dressed up and spend a very nice evening together. They had live music, mostly classics and standards, and Thing 1 didn't miss a chance to dance. I think we danced every song we were there, except for the one during which we ate. There was also a photographer there taking pictures of everyone. I think it turned out nicely.

Yes, that is a Gryffindor tie. What else could I wear on a date with Thing 1?

When we first got there, it looked like she was going to be the oldest one there, which she was for a while. It was really cute to see all the dads with their little girls dancing their hearts out. Toward the end of the dance I noticed an elderly man there with his adult daughter. I saw them posing for their picture and thought it was one of the sweetest things I saw that night. (I don't want to dwell on it too much, but my thoughts did go to Stacy and how Parkinson's robbed her of her father way too soon. It's something never far from my mind each Father's Day.) 

We've been talking a lot about how our little girl is growing up so quickly, and she really is, but for a couple of hours that night it felt like time was frozen for just a little bit.

Sunday morning I was greeted with a pile of people (and a dog) happy to see me and wish me a happy Father's Day.

We had a light breakfast, got ready, and headed out to Outback for a wonderful lunch. We're not huge beef people, but a steak there is great. Plus, they have this new things where you can get your steak divided into three little pieces, each with a different sauce. That is exactly the kind of thing Stacy loves--small bites, lots of things to taste! We all ate a little too much, but had a great time.

Next, we went to a paint-it-yourself pottery studio for some relaxing art time. I got to paint for free since it was Father's Day, and Stacy thought this sounded like a very pleasant way to spend an afternoon as a family, and I have to agree with her. Each person picks out an unpainted piece of pottery like a mug, or figurine, and then paints it however he or she wants. They then glaze and bake them and you pick them up the next week.

I picked out a big mug, Thing 1 did an owl-themed mug, and Thing 2 did a gnome. He loves gnomes. It's his race of choice when he plays Dungeons and Dragons. He likes to use them in the stories he makes up. They frequently appear in the games he creates. His biggest decision that day was which gnome to paint. I think he picked well.

Stacy felt like she already has a lot of mugs, so she did a treat jar for Scout. It's super cute and Scout already loves hearing the lid rattling. It took her like 3 seconds to realize what's in the jar. The jar is now in the hutch, safely out of sight, but not out of mind.

Here we are, about a week later with our finished products. I think they all look really nice. Besides that, I got to spend a day with my favorite people in the world. I'm really lucky to have a great wife, great kids, a great (and beautifully untrained and mischievous) dog, and a great life.

Thank you, Stacy, for a wonderful Father's Day!