Yesterday was Father's Day....a day to celebrate the most awesome father who has ever lived on this planet. My father. I know that millions of others have a different nomination for this award, and that is a happy feeling.
Father's Day is a day of celebrating imperfect men. But imperfect men who, even with their imperfections, always "showed up." All though my life my father always showed up for me, and my family. I could fill pages here of those memories of him showing up.
Almost every day I look up at Heaven and tell my Father, and my Mother, what they did for my life. My gratitude is beyond description. Every day.
And so, with that father as a presence through the whole day for me, I got to celebrate Father's Day with my children and grandchildren.
Can anything be better? Seriously, can anything?
I started out my day with a Breakfast for Champions. Look at this breakfast: (and try not to pay any attention to the fact that I'm an old man using a bib)
Doesn't that look scrumptious? (Don't ask me to share....I might have to be rude)
Here is the gift that you see in the photo. An antique milk bottle from the Graybill Dairy....we have no idea when or where this Dairy (maybe in Pennsylvania) was a working farm, but I like to drink my daily glass of milk from one, and now we have one here in Pine for me!
Here's the card you see, from my sweetie:
Vintage. Like I am.
The afternoon before, Vicky had given my a bottle of my favorite wine. It's called 3H, from Horse Heaven Hills, where we took the Inland Empire Century bicycle Century. We did this ride with Jules every year. The ride includes a steep climb up Weber Canyon to a prairie where the grapes were grown and the wine is made. That area is called Horse Heaven Hills. Fond memories with my son.
See the cup? Vicky found it, of all places, down at the corner collectables shop. It's significance is that it is just like cups we got years ago on our travels in Broadus, Montana. At a gas station of all places.
After eating my scrumptious breakfast, we went outside for awhile to sit on our perch in our Love Nest.
Candice and Stella called, and we had a really nice and fun Face-time chat with them, as we always do. We have all drawn so close with time.
Jules emailed me:
WAIT!!! I'm not done.
Then we went over to Owen's and Mila's and the grandchildren Hannah, Vernon, Robert, and Gideon's home.
....and continued the party.
First we had a dinner that rivaled my breakfast, made by.....GUESS WHO! My sweetie again.
It was a marinated steak, which I cooked on the grill (one of my only two "tasks" for the day), with scrumptious mashed potatoes (a favorite of mine since my mother made them in the 1950s), and asparagus.
Look here and eat your heart out (just don't eat my steak....or my mashed potatoes)
Here we are having our dinner.
Then it was MORE PRESENTS!!!
Here is a close-up. Mila made this. And look what she did. She dressed all of the kids in cowboy clothes we had bought for them. The boys wear those hats all of the time. In fact we had to get a new one for Vernon because he completely wore his first one out.
AND THEN!!!
I got my big gift from Vicky. She got me a vintage hand-cranked home-made ice cream maker.
She knows my history.....that I cranked gallon after gallon of this ice cream during my childhood. I would go to the store with my father (I could still find the location) and get a bag of crushed ice (for 25 cents), and can still see my mother making the custard.
Powerful, strong, sweet memories of my childhood in the 1950s. And I got to relive them today.
Vicky made the ice cream mix. And I started cranking. My other "job" today. Aren't I mistreated? :)
Everybody had to help. I mean, that's the fun!
THEN, of course, we did something that is an absolutely essential:
The kids and I cleaned the paddle!
It was really delicious. I think the best I have ever had, and I have a life-time experience with home-made ice cream.
More gifts from Vicky. An antique ice cream instructional manual for the very ice cream makers like the one she got for me.
And another card:
I got a terrific card from Jules that I saved to open at the party:
He's when I became a father for the first time. There are no words to describe the joy I had in raising him and Emily.....and fun, and rewards.
Now jumping ahead a day, I got cards from Emily/Sean and the boys.
I asked Vicky to re-take the first set of photos of me with the cards...I was in tears in the first set (maybe I should have kept the first set).
They had all left a phone message for me. But reception here is spotty, and we didn't get it. Darn.
I recorded a song I played on the piano. It is Tennessee Babe...a song I regularly sang to her as a lullaby tucking her into bed. I sent that to her....sans my tears.
I got a text from Owen:
Rachelle called and we had a nice long talk. She said my card's on the way. We are very close.
Adam (Candice's partner who we know well and is part of our family) sent a nice note:
Hannah gave me a pine cone that is expected to sprout. That will be fun to watch. She did this on her own.
What do I do with all of this?
Maybe thank God for all of the people who I have in my life to love. What more is there to life?
And for Vicky and me it is the supreme closeness we feel from being parents and grandparents together.
I wish my Dad was here with me, celebrating this with me and us celebrating him. Thank you Dad (and Mom) for giving me a life where I can have days like today. I love you.
