Nostalgia & Father's Day

June 21/15

Well, my long winded typing finger didn't get enough nostalgia yesterday so here we go again. Father’s day.  

I attempted to discuss some of my dad's eccentricities yesterday but here's a few more.  Sunday mornings like this beautiful peaceful Sunday morning were;  when I was a kid , were kicked into "let's get chores done mode with the help of John Phillip Sousa marching music booming from the speakers of dad's ol 8 track player , letting us know it was time to get up , enjoy an oddly named breakfast and get the day started.

 Then there were the family activities , family court proceedings , if one of my sisters had "married" some teen heartthrob , we held a family wedding , and on the occasion of a holiday , Canada Day comes to mind.  

 we were instructed to get an instrument it was parade time , the neighborhood was subjected to McCoy and his kids making a racket in the street (loud but as un-sousa like as can be )Dad got embroiled in a "mooning" war , with a neighbor that led to one of my most scarring moments as a child , I answered a knock at the door , which I opened , revealing an ass well over the 300lb mark , unclothed and pressed against the glass of the screen door!

  we had a dog for a time , named 'whisky" , when he got out Dad had to wander the street at night looking for him , calling "Whisky !!" to calls from neighbors of "go home and sleep it off McCoy !!!!!" .

 Dad's adventures on Halloween involved going door to door dressed as an old lady with an empty glass asking for drinks and getting recognized instantly. I am so thankful that my boys got to chance to experience my dad , I certainly have eccentricities of my own but I feel pretty boring when I think back to those old days . 

It is one of the reasons I am so interested in the new roles of my kids as husbands and partners, living vicariously through the moments that will become their treasured memories as they enter these new roles they each have undergone changes that bring me back to my own transition into the role of a husband, the way that they interact with their partners, laugh, discuss, share and the way they are so, "there" for each other. a wonderful time and one that both Dar and I watch somewhat jealously, yearning for the nostalgic feelings it awakens I was fortunate as a dad, the boys and I share interests like making music and a love of the dumber side of comedies, they were all fun and interesting as kids and are impressive and interesting in their new roles, when on occasion I am around young children I long for the wonderfully exuberant boys that once filled our home. so my most pressing feelings this father's day are those of pride in my sons and for the men they have become, of gratitude for the colours, sounds and the love I felt as a kid from my own dad and of the rest of the journey as the products of my own fathering style branch out into styles of their own Happy F-DAY (not the same F I usually use when I abbreviate!) Phil