21 June 2015

Answer Me This for Father's Day

Happy Father's Day! Matt's Father's Day and our first time bringing two kids to Mass was a little more exciting than usual; Kit nursed or slept the entire time, but Little Bear was having a hard time handling the heat (it's been horribly hot, and is expected to remain so up until next weekend... ugh) so he and Matt wound up in the cry room so they could be next to an open window.

We had a pleasant, fairly calm day at home, punctuated by wild wrestling matches between Matt and Little Bear, and to avoid heating up the house any more than it already was, we decided to have fun with supper and made a pizza on the grill.

I did wind up typing this out on Tuesday evening, "just in case," so I actually have a post for Answer Me This today despite the foggy brain from dear Kit not knowing day from night...

1. What's the best thing about your dad?

His readiness to help his family with anything, combined with a sense of when to offer help, and when to let us figure things out on our own and only give help/advice if it's requested.

2. If you've got kids, what is the best thing about THEIR dad?

Even after a long, stressful day, when he really just wants to zone out, he is always willing to wrestle with Little Bear, have a water gun fight, or even get Little Bear to help him in the kitchen making supper if Kit needs me to be sitting down and nursing her.

3. What's the best advice your dad ever gave you?

I don't remember any exact words, but he did a thorough job of instilling a solid work ethic and an awareness of the importance of saving money from the time I was young... and then let me know when I'd taken him a little too literally and wouldn't buy decent running shoes in high school "because I'm saving for college," promising that if the price of a pair of running shoes was all that stood between me and college, he'd make up the difference. And he didn't even let me see him roll his eyes at my ridiculousness!

4. What's something you have in common with your dad?

Matt says, "You both make lots of lists. He has lists for every kind of trip, every season of every kind of trip. And you make lists of everything... You even make lists of lists." Which is very true, and yet I never would have thought of it as something we had in common.

5. What's the manliest thing you know how to do?

Turning a 1/4"-thick sheet of plastic into a freight sled by hand... Does that count? 

6. Who is your favorite fictional dad?

I'm going to go with Commander Ted Walker, of Arthur Ransome's Swallows and Amazons series. He's very rarely seen as a character, as he's frequently deployed, but he has clearly done an excellent job of raising respectful, confident and capable children. It is his telegram, "Better drowned than duffers if not duffers won't drown," that allows the Walker children to begin their adventures. His children all clearly look up to him, desire to make him proud, and have great respect for the things he's taught them.

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