Happy Fathers Day Dad! Ever since my parents migrated from NC to UT we’ve been able to spend more time together. It’s been very enjoyable. Some of the fun is talking about family events that we all remember or don’t remember. Dad always tells me I’m remembering it wrong. Just to prove him wrong, here are some things I remember from growing up.
I remember having the coolest toys. I could play for hours by myself imagining all the different planets and battles that my toys would have. Thanks for providing such great tools of fun Dad.
I remember going fishing with my dad. I remember one time specifically, the city of Charlotte had just opened a new belt system around the city. My dad and I got up early and decided to take that new road that not many people knew about. It was a foggy morning and as we drove on this deserted 4 lane highway with about 50 feet of visibility it seemed like the rest of the world was gone and it was just the two of us off to hang out on a boat for a while.
I remember food being on the table. This might not seem like much to list, but my Dad got the job done. He worked hard to make sure we always ate. I only have one boy, Dad had four to feed. I know we ate a ton of food, so that must have cost a lot. Thanks for always bringing home the bacon, and eggs, and milk, cheese, cereal, doughnuts, juice, pizza, etc.
I remember having parties. Not only could I throw a party at our house any weekend I wanted, but I remember my friends asking if they could come hang out with my parents. Everyone loved my Dad. He may act Eeyore-ish sometimes, but he can really turn on the Southern charm.
I remember one time most of our scout troop got in trouble for something and we had to leave scout camp early. The scoutmaster called my dad to see if he could come get us. He said he would and we were all worried about how angry he would be after driving a few hours to come pick up his rowdy boys. After hearing why we got kicked out of scout camp he just laughed and took us all to Pizza Hut. I later had a friend tell me he was glad his Dad wasn’t available to pick us up b/c he would have yelled at all of us during the ride back. Thanks for being a real person Dad and understanding.
I remember standing in my goalie equipment on the ice thinking it was the most boring game I had ever played in. Then I looked up to see my Dad taking pictures and cheering like it was the most important game he had ever been to. Thanks Dad for being a fan.
I remember my Dad taking us to eat before going to Priesthood Session, giving us blessings, and giving talks. I remember Dad teaching Young Single Adults and priest quorum. I remember him teaching me to catch and throw a baseball and the best way to open a talk in sacrament meeting. He taught me how to take things apart and how to fix things.
An update on little miss piggy bank. She has passed the penny! Charlotte had her shots scheduled for yesterday so after her shots Charlotte got her first x-ray ever. Joy told me she wasn’t scared at all but instead asked the x-ray tech if she liked her sandals. Two hours later Joy poked around Charlotte’s logs and found a hard metal item. We are SO glad this experience is over. And Charlotte is now a big advocate for not eating money. I also made the mistake one last time of calling her my little piggy bank, she quickly said “no daddy, I’m Charlotte!”
Being the amazing husband I am, I was watching the kids while Joy went to some relief society thing. While having a great time putting the kids to bed I found a penny in Charlotte’s bed. So I put it on her night stand and said good night to them both. I went into our room across the hall. I enjoyed listening to them laugh with each other and then for me to say “sssshhh”. After a while they were being more quiet. Then all of a sudden Chase the vigil lookout and defender that he is started screaming “Charlotte is choking! Charlotte is choking!!” This freaked me out quite a bit as I jumped up. I found Charlotte gagging but luckily still breathing. So frantically I asked what she had eaten. She said in a very small princess voice “money”. I chuckled and took her to the bathroom to stick my finger down her throat and see if I could find anything in her mouth. It was too late. She swallowed the penny. They both got a very stern reminder about only food going in their mouths. I figured Joy would freak out when she came home, but she just laughed and said Gino used to eat money all the time. We are still waiting for confirmation that the penny has passed. Charlotte doesn’t like her new nickname of Piggy Bank.