Father's Day

I don't normally celebrate much on Father's Day. I lost both my Father and Father in law withing months of each other in 2005. 

Here is my father the year before he died. I had to walk away and take this shot with a long lens so he couldn't hear the camera click. He did not like photos of himself as 'aged'. 

From our trip in 2001 to Hawai'i. What I didn't realize at the time is that I only had a few years left with him. He was my charge on that trip. It was two weeks of sometimes Utter Frustration or unexpected wonderful fun.
I look back now and think of what fantastic memories I have of that trip.

My Father in Law, Lonnie was also a hoot. He hated having any pictures taken of him also. I imagine it was because he had to wear oxygen in the last few years of his life.

He loved fishing and we would take him as often as he would go.

He adored his great grandkids. This photo was a sneak shot while he was occupied with Ariel.

Father ~ Daughter Time. This is my husband with his daughter sitting on a lakeside pier on a summer afternoon. They were watching the kids play in the shallow water.

A photo of my youngest son with his son Sterling right after he was born.

Here is to the dad's the good ones, the bad ones, the so-so ones. The ones who are Dad's to pets instead of children. Those dads who have adopted, those dads who love their charges.

...and those dads we miss.

I make a special note of this today because a have a close friend who's father is now in the hospital with Covid. He told his daughter that Covid was a not real, it was fake, he wouldn't get it. He complied with her request regarding masks. He refused the vaccination. It was a hoax after all and no big deal.

Her mom did get the vaccine. The mom took care of the dad while he deteriorated and DID not get Covid-19. To me? This says, get the damn vaccine. I don't care what you think but this became super personal to me last night. I know this man and adore his funny quirks and have missed visiting with him over the past year and a half. 
As my close friend said: Please, please, please get the vaccination. 

I do not mean for this to be a commentary on Covid or politics. Only a tough revelation that struck close to my heart.

This did not have to be. A family suddenly stricken with illness on a day they would be celebrating together.

Do you recognize this?

Email from my brother:  Artwork

Do you recognize this?

I found it buried in a box in my basement. I'd love to return it to the original artist/owner.

I opened the image and smiled with my face and my mind.

The artist was me many many years ago. I recall the art class, we were to make a sculpture of The Thinker I think. 
Well that is what I tried to do. I recall shaping the clay with my hands and being so disappointed that the clay wouldn't come to shape for me.

My hands were young and clumsy. I'd never studied human anatomy, and I felt the color and details were awful.
In fact when I brought the project home I felt embarrassed of the clunk of muddy looking clump of a human thing that I'd made.

I didn't want to show it to anyone, but I'd talked about the project at home and my dad insisted he see my sculpture.

Slowly I revealed the awful thing. I handed it to him.

My father's eyes lit up and a smile spread across his face. He claimed that it was the most beautiful thing he'd ever seen.
That couldn't be, I'd thought at the time. Yet he asked me pointedly if he could please have it to display.

I gladly handed the monstrous thing over to him.

The 'sculpture' faded from memory and until I opened the image my brother sent, I'd forgotten all about it.

As I stared at the ugly thing, waves of emotion flowed over me. Dad loved this enough to move it to his Wisconsin home, to move it to his Virginia home... he never tossed it. He never threw it out. He kept it.
He
kept
it.

The Thinker was no longer ugly in my eyes. Instead I saw the obvious. My father loved it because I made it.

I typed out a reply.
Yes please, I'd love to have it back.