Happy Father's Day

Father's Day is tomorrow and I never know what to get dad. Not just on Father's Day, but any holiday that implies something must be gifted: birthday, Christmas, etc.

What do you buy the guy that has everything? Two years ago for his birthday we set him up with a Beta fish. It was one of the girls' ideas. I think he liked it: he named it Brady, as in Tom Brady. (He's a Patriots fan and his birthday is near the SuperBowl)

Dad soon changed the fish's name to "Boring" because the fish did nothing. Mom was always checking if it was even still alive. Dad fed it and mom joked about it. The girls would change the water when we visited. Then Mom and Dad went on a trip and turned the heat down. Tom Boring died. I think the Patriots lost that year too.

Last December Dad had a stroke. Scared all of us kids into action. We can be a mighty force when we come together. We don't get all huggy and mushy and we'll tear each other down in a heartbeat, but if one of us gets hurt, we're as tight as Gorilla Glue. Sarah and Emily flew in to Connecticut and Tom,  Andy and I took turns visiting at the hospital. Dad recovered quickly and came home.

On the day Sarah flew back to Kansas, Dad had another stroke. This one had me being the "ambulance" and Sarah upon landing at the airport, simply boarded another flight back to Connecticut. This stroke was more severe and came with complications.

At one point he couldn't really speak but he was trying to ask me a question. He kept saying, "I don't know..." After he tried a few more times to make the sentence, I just said, "I don't know either Dad, but I know I love you." He responded by laughing a funny "hahaha" kind of laugh. Two thoughts went through my head at that moment. First was, "Typical Dad. He's still in there. Everything that makes him him, is still there." My second thought was, "I don't want him to think that my saying 'I love you' is a joke. Ever."

When Dad came back home, I moved into my parents house for a few weeks to help Mom get Dad, literally, back on his feet again. We spent a lot of time together just sitting in the living room; Dad doing his speech therapy or resting and me on my ipad. Occasionally one of us would be inspired to share something and then we'd settle back in to our comfortable silence. As much as I wish my Dad hadn't had the strokes, I am grateful for the time it gave us to be together in our own quiet way.

It is our relationship and it's a reserved one. Dad and I have never had big conversations. We just don't need them. I have great memories of doing stuff with my Dad. He taught me my first constellations in the night sky and took me out to watch meteor showers. We tried to see Halley's comet, we observed lunar eclipses, and he showed me how to make a pinhole camera for solar eclipses. I'll never forget the night he woke me up around 2 AM when I was about ten years old. We went out and observed a comet that's orbit was estimated to be about seven million years!

 Dad loves science and he taught me to love it too. He took us to the Boston Science Museum and the planetarium. For science fair, he taught me about electrical circuits and we made one that worked! The following year we made a more complicated circuit. It was my Dad who showed me that "learn by doing" is sometimes the best way. Talking about it doesn't always get it done.

Dad has nearly fully recovered from his strokes. A stranger would be hard pressed to think anything had ever happened. It's a gift I am not taking for granted. Not much has changed in our relationship. We are still not huge conversationalists. But now when I leave after a visit, I give my dad a hug and a kiss.

For Father's Day I think I'll get my Dad a bag of bird seed. He likes to watch the birds come to the feeder while he has lunch. And while I still don't know what to get the guy who has practically everything, I hope he knows how much I love him. Enough to not get him another fish...

Father's Day

Ahhh... Father's Day. For the first time in years, Sam was actually home for Father's day. Rachel had made him a stained glass bottle that she painted all by herself. Samantha had written a "Compare and Contrast" letter about her father. It was very humorous. Nathalie made him some origami animals. Hannah and Abby created some homemade cards for him.

After church we went and looked at a horse trailer. (After last weeks short trip with eight goats in the back of the van, we've decided that a small trailer for those short trips is a must!) Unfortunately, while being in our price range, it had no title and so would be extremely difficult to register, especially in time for the CT ADGA show.

Next we went to Tractor Supply to pick up grain and some new show collars for the goats. I managed to sneak some Circus peanuts candy into the order for Sam. When we got home the girls and Sam worked on clearing the fence line so we can put up new fencing, while I made lunch: hamburgers, hot dogs, macaroni salad and fresh lettuce from our garden! Then it was the mad rush to get all the animals fed, watered, and milked before getting ready to go to evening service at church.

It was a good Father's day. I am so thankful that Sam is such a great dad. He loves each of his girls dearly and would do anything for them.

Our Weekend

We had such a good weekend! I'd post pictures but I forgot my camera at my parent's house. I'll be up there today and I'll be sure to post the pictures.

We decided to drop going to the Forts in New London and Groton on Saturday. The gas would have been too much. So we got an early start and headed up to Canterbury with a small side trip to Lowes in Killingly to pick up the parts Sam needed to finish the toy box. While in Lowes, Hannah and I poured over the paint sample cards and booklets. She decided on about 10 cards to take home and try out in the "real" light of the room. She picked some beautiful sage greens with creamy greens as potential accents. She also chose a few cards of browns for accents. We'll see what she ends up with!

We then arrived at the Prudence Crandall House Museum. It has definitely improved since I went there on a class field trip in 1986! The girls were pleased to put faces with some of the names they had read about. I was surprised that they actually stopped to read most of the exhibit signs. The museum had a small video of scenes from Canterbury through the years. Samantha wanted to know if the Green Center School (one room schoolhouse in Canterbury) was the school I went to!

The museum did a good job of telling the story of Prudence Crandall within the context of the time period. They did a great job of explaining the history of why people did what they did. I hate it when people apply 21st century morals, ethics, and beliefs to history. History has to be disucssed within the context of the period in which it occured. We are to learn from history, not judge it's ethics or morals.

Anyway, we then went to my parent's house for the Open Studio. When we got there Mom had two visitors, so as quietly as five kids who are happy to see their grandparents can, we went in. After a lunch of tuna sandwiches, lemonade, cheese and fruit, we took the girls swimming for a few hours.

The water was perfect! Samantha and Rachel are becoming better swimmers already. Samantha has no fear and often has to be reminded of the boundaries. And that pretty much describes Samantha in everything!

We left for home around 3:30 and got home just in time to get the animals taken care of before the thunderstorms came through.

Our Father's Day was a nice relaxing day. The younger girls gave Sam a "Three Stooges Fire Department" sign. The three older girls gave him a huge book of firefighting history. It was put out by the National Fallen Firefighter's Memorial and the proceeds go to support the families of firfighters who have died in the line of duty. It's a beautiful book with lots of photos of old equipment and fire houses. Eye candy for firemen!