AMDG
This post is a little late in getting out, but I wanted it to be perfect and our plans last week got turned upside down more than once and I wasn't able to put it together in time for Father's Day. But, here it is! Finally!!
My thoughts this Father's Day.
Sadly I was not able to spend Father's day with my dad since we live on opposite sides of the country
My dad. My dad and I have always been close and I have been missing him A LOT.
It is hard to know where to begin. I have so many favorite memories, but, I will focus on just a few.
I have always been a bit of a daddy's girl. I love that his nickname for me when I was little was "princess". He truly made me feel like one. As I got older it became "girly" and "girlio", and I somewhere along the line started calling him "daddio". :-) To me they have always been special, and I've always loved the bond I feel when we use them.
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Some of my favorite memories.
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"dodadodododo"
For as far back as I can remember my dad has loved singing. He has a little trouble with staying on key, but that has never stopped him from singing his heart out. I cannot say that my siblings have always appreciated this quality, seeing as how he liked to wake us up to one of his favorite old songs (usually was 'On top of old smokey') each morning. And I'm not sure that his mixed up, totally off lyrics helped either (although that was always my favorite part. You never knew what was going to happen On top of Old smokey! ;-) ). There would be moaning and groaning as he turned on the lights and sat next to one of the boys, singing away. I remember hearing it from my room and just smiling. I liked his morning ritual. I would wait under my covers for him to make his way to my room for my turn. If I was really tired I would just lay there with a smile on my face as he sung to me, like he was serenading me and putting me back to sleep, but most mornings I would join in and help him with the new story of what happened 'On Top of Old Smokey'. For some reason at the end of (any) the song, when we didn't know what else to say, it would usually end in, "dodadodododo", and we would both end laughing... and then we would start into the day.
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Chess...
Chess has been one of our favorite things to do together for many years. I cannot remember what year it began, but from quite a young age my dad taught us the game of chess. My dad was the reining winner for quite a while, as we were all young and just learning the game, but one by one each of us got better and reached a point where we could beat him. To beat my dad in chess was a big deal! It made us feel sooo good! And my dad was always so proud!
I remember the seeming never ending streak of losing to my dad. I think I even remember the day I first beat him, although I cannot remember how old I was. I just remember being so excited and my dad being really proud of me. I am so grateful that he always (from a reasonable age for us) played to win. He didn't give us the game or play half into it, he played his best so that we could learn from him. It worked! And one by one we all beat him.
Once we were all about the same level we had a few chess tournaments. We are all pretty competitive and enjoyed all sorts of family tournaments over the years - chess, ping-pong, putt-putt, mario-cart, poker (Nothing like a fun family game of Texas Hold'em). Just a regular family game night at the Carter house. :-)
But Chess, well, this pastime came and went for most of my brothers, but it became an almost everyday event for my dad and me. In my teen years it became our habit right before bed. There were many times after lights were out and I was snuggled in bed that my door would open and he was ask, "ya coming?", and we would quietly play a game (or three) before calling it a night.
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Paperclips and Paperdolls
"Dad is going to office depot.", someone would say, and I would reply, "Can I go?!". haha. Yes, from a VERY young age this was one of my favorite stores. Why so cool for a tiny kid, you might wonder? They had EVERYTHING in my mind. Stuff for drawing, coloring, organizing, it was so full, clean and neat! And if you know me, anything to do with crafts and pretty ways to organize was the BEST! (you can imagine what how excited I get when I make a trip to Joann Fabrics now! haha)
I remember one year for Christmas my dad wrapped an unopened stack of regular white copy paper and put it under the tree. I still remember the look of, "Paper?", on my siblings faces as I went, "YES!" and my dad roared laughing. Oh the possibilities of what I could do with that stack of paper! Stories, art, crafts! And it was alllll mineeee!!! lol. Believe it or not, I still get excited what I see a stack of unused paper, or even a stick of glue! My mind goes crazy thinking of all the things I could do with them!
So, when my dad needed to make a "boring" trip to the store, I was his little buddy. We always had a blast. We would turn on old hits and sing together, laughing at how terrible we sounded or at the words we were getting wrong. And if the weather was nice it was windows down and radio up!
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Not only is my dad the hardest working man I've ever known, but any sacrifice to do or make something better for us was never too great. And with all of that, he still spent quality time with us every chance he could.
I am so grateful for all of these priceless memories, but, there is something about my dad that tops all of these. My dad loves his faith. He LOVES our Catholic Faith. If there is something that each of my six brothers and I have taken with us as we have grown up and started on each of our own paths it is the faith that my parents have instilled in us.
When my parents were tired and worn out (OK, flat out exhausted) they still did everything they could to show us the importance of our Faith. From morning and night prayers as a family, praying the rosary as a family, and bible/theology trivia and the dinner table.
They wanted us to know that God loves us and wanted to set an example for us through their hard work, patience, and constant sacrifices. And they did an amazing job.
I think that each of us had our harder teen years ;-), our growing pains and little rebellions, but no matter what we always knew our parents loved us. We always knew that we could go to our parents when we needed them. We always knew that if we had a question with our faith that, even if they didn't know the answer off the top of their heads, they would help guide us to finding the answer.
I think I can say for all of my siblings that all of us are constantly learning and growing in our faith. And that we have the love for our faith and that foundation of Christ's Truth through His Church to help us learn and grow BECAUSE of our parents patience and faithfulness through the years.
I cannot thank my dad enough. I simply can't.
My parents have set an example that is hard to match. So, to end, thank you, dad. Thank you more than I can ever say.
Your
Girlio
P.S. Slim-Jim is in the mail ;-)
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