A Father's Day Post

Sunday is Father’s Day, and since I haven’t talked much about my goofy Dad I thought a little recognition couldn’t go amiss. Plus he’s been pestering me to write a post about The Greatest Man I Ever Knew (yes, so humble you can almost taste it). So I hereby present you with a list of my favorite memories featuring my dad, and if you would like to add your own favorite memory about your dad in the comments we can all celebrate Dad’s together. And I would have some comments which this blog is sorely lacking. Wouldn’t that be fun?

My Favorite Memories Featuring My Dad:

• It was June 1999, and we had spent the day at Schloss Neuschwanstein in Bavaria. Family vacation and all that jazz. For dinner that evening we went back to the village of Hohenschwangau, we ate outside, and marveled at how empty the village was compared to the morning when it was packed with Japanese tourist. After a fabulous German meal (featuring schnitzel I’m sure) my dad and I decided to walk back up the steep, windy road that takes you to the backside of the castle for a photo op. It would be beautiful, softly lit by the setting sun. I don’t necessarily remember what we talked about on the long walk there and back. But, I do remember how peaceful the walk was, how stunning the castle was, and how much I knew that the moments spent together would replay in my mind countless times.


• When we were little he used to attack my brother and I with “bellybutton kisses.” It was equal parts hilarious and endearing, and a little embarrassing. You know, just in public and stuff.


• One summer when I was young (junior high I think?), he and my mom decided to forgo the traditional family vacation and decided to paint the entire house during his two-week “off” time. Every morning he would put in the same Fleetwood Mac CD and listen to it over and over and over. I will never think of Don’t Stop in the same way.


• Another family vacation took place on the east coast, Washington D.C. in particular, in the summer. And boy, IT. WAS. HOT. The kind of hot that makes your clothes stick to your body, and makes you want to run for the shower the minute you step out of the air-conditioned hotel room. It was so hot that my dad decided that it was too hot to eat lunch. Plus, we had too many museums to see, and monuments to visit. No lunch. He finally caved on the third day when my brother’s stomach growled so loudly that it interrupted the US Supreme Court oral arguments.

I have a million and one more memories I could write up, like the day that my parents flew into Dublin, and I met them at the airport. I was never so happy to see my dad, and thrilled to show him the country that I had fallen in love with. But for today I’ll leave you these (plus, I need to save something for next year!) Dad, I hope you have a fabulous Father’s Day…and remember this post next time I accidently destroy your camera flashcard.