Sunday, June 15, 2008

A view haloo! & A Happy Father's Day to You!



OK Jac--where's that from? (cuz I can't remember) The next line is "view haloo, oh yes, definately" or something like that!
Jacque called earlier in the week to do a little Bringhurst brainstorming. We were trying to remember some favorite "dad" moments. I gave her a few, but decided to adopt the notion and submit my own. So, in honor of my dad on his day, here are some of my favorite memories: (realizing that I have dad's memory, so cut me some slack!)
(As I thought of them this week, I saw how many of these dadisms I have adopted as my own)
*We could always find a package of Dentyne gum in dad's suit coat pockets in his closet.
(and likewise, my children know where to go looking for the package of Trident in my purse)
*As luck would have it, I got sit on dad's left hand at the dinner table (how were those seating arrangements decided anyway?) and so profited from his butter-soaked potato peels! Mmmm...
(I especially miss those now because Naoki thinks potatoes are war-time food, so I don't make them as often as I would like.)
*One of my favorite all-time dad spoofs was when we pulled up to our "new" fixer-upper house in Oregon. Not one of us questioned him out loud for fear of hurting his feelings! Inwardly, we thought he'd lost his mind.
(In hindsight, I might've enjoyed the geographical location as my Jr. High best friend would've lived right across the street.)
*I also remember dad patiently teaching each of us to drive. That's where I learned what a "rolling stop" was and let me say...I'm really good at them now! I think of him almost every time I do one. Stopping is for sissies!
*Two of the most frequent phrases out of dad's mouth were "a place for everything and everything in it's place". (my updated version of that is (would you put your cotton-pickin' stuff away already?!!) AND "Oh Lord it's hard to be humble, when your perfect in every way..." (And I married a man who sings "I am handsome, I am smart! I am a walking work of art!")
A couple more:
*We have a young man in our ward who reminds me of Brian Charles and I can't look at him without remembering how dad always wanted us to hook up. (He was just lacking the Asian persuasion I was waiting for.:)
*Another funny memory was dad cranking the William Tell Overture to get us out of bed in the morning, which was preceded by some very real cow sound-effects. Remember Polly and Daisy answering back?
*Finally, my most often repeated dad story is how my dad never wanted me to go out for soccer because it was too rough for his "little girls"--"Why not try water ballet?" Well, even now living in the state of water sports (swim team, diving, water polo)--there IS NO WATER BALLET! (And yet, when I went out for the soccer team anyway at age 15--he never missed a game.
So there it is. I wish I had been blessed with a little more of dad then just his lousy memory and an unparalleled ability to pack a van for vacation! I wish I had an ounce of his patience. I can't even survive a 4 year old let alone whatever teenage nonsense awaits me. I have to remind myself constantly to take the work hat off and put the fun hat on. I'm truly grateful for you dad. Moreso as I try and teach my kids some of the same lessons I found so difficult to learn. I'm grateful that I married a man that reminds me of you daily. It makes you not feel so far away. Happy Fathers Day! Love, Jen

2 comments:

Trina said...

I had to "view halooo!" out loud before I could remember.

Your dad had good taste - BC was my first boyfriend! :) Hee hee!

And could you ask your husband not to teach his song to my husband? He would sing it NONSTOP if he knew it!

Jacque said...

A view halooo, quit right, a view haloo is from...(drum roll please) Mary Poppins during the fox hunt. And just to clirify I am pretty sure it wasn't Brian Charles, he was my age..although you were one to rob the cradle. It was Scott Charles silly!