Because another wine food and travel blog was way too long.
|
|
Father’s Day Treasures…Father’s Day was always a favorite holiday because my Dad appeared to be thrilled with any gift he received. “Fancy!” he’d say. And he saved everything. I mean everything. Called them his “treasures.” He’d keep them in boxes, in dressers, in desks. One entire room in the house was devoted to his “treasures.”
One year I got him a solid milk chocolate bar in the shape of D-A-D. And he didn’t eat it. Not that my father didn’t love chocolate. He did. In the last few months of his life all he ate was Hersey’s Chocolate Bars. But the chocolate DAD he saved in the little plastic box until it turned chalky. This wasn’t the first time he’d saved a chocolate gift. Once he was going through his “treasure drawer” and pulled out a faded foil wrapped cigar. “Your mother gave this to me our first Christmas,” he said. At the time I was only 8 or 9, and wanted him to unwrap it so we could eat it, but he put it back in the drawer. Later I, also of the terrible sweet tooth, sneaked in the drawer and unwrapped the foil cigar — only to find it disintegrate into chocolate dust and crumbles. Another Father’s Day I gave him a coffee mug with the words. “Father” “Dad” “Friend” The way the letters were arranged used one of the letters of one word to complete another. And when my Dad first looked at the mug the words he saw were “FAT DAD.” Then he saw his error and laughed. But from then on in my parents’ home, Father’s Day was known as “Fat Dad’s Day.” When it comes to appreciating gifts, Joe is a lot like that. He doesn’t call them “treasures” but he keeps them just the same. He has all sorts of gifts from me, and the kids, lined up on a set of shelves in his home office. There’s a clay duck that Jacob made him when he was little. A wooden box with a stone heart, I gave him maybe our first Christmas together. A little tiny clay pig that I got him in Ann Arbor. A ceramic “#1″ hand-painted with glitter, that I think came from Alex. Little things that would mean nothing to anyone else, but to Joe they are special, because they came from the people he loves. I guess that is what makes a Father (or Husband) special. When he appreciates the little things, and seems to have taken to heart, “it’s the thought that counts.” I feel lucky to have had a father like that. And equally blessed that Joe is like that too. Happy Father’s Day to all the fathers out there. May you all receive “treasures” from those you love. Cheers!
aka WineWonkette P.S. One of my “treasures” is the picture, above; of my father bouncing me on a trampoline in our backyard. 
View Comments to “Father’s Day Treasures…”
Page 1 of 0
|
June 21st, 2009 at 6:45 am
Thank you for sharing the beautiful memories of your Father Amy
June 21st, 2009 at 9:35 am
And thank YOU for reading!
June 21st, 2009 at 7:16 pm
Wow, Amy, I didn't realize that was a “real” photo. I thought you had grabbed an old stock photo of idyllic 50s life. That is very cool as is this blog entry.
I've got an entire shelf at my office with treasures from Alex. I also have a box of treasures spanning the entire 18 years Lori and I have been together. Anybody that saw the box would think it was junk, but I know if the house is ever on fire (god forbid) that box of “junk” is one of the first things I'll grab.
June 21st, 2009 at 7:38 pm
That picture was taken by a friend of my parents who was also a professional photographer. I think I was around 5 or 6. So it was closer to the 70s than the 50s.
I bet the most dominant color in that box is green
June 21st, 2009 at 9:46 pm
What a great photo. Your story about your father choked me up.
June 22nd, 2009 at 1:00 pm
It still chokes me up sometimes as well.
June 22nd, 2009 at 1:38 pm
Well, it brought back so many memories. I almost made it to the end w/o crying. I am still finding things that he saved in drawers and “nooks and crannies”. Your mom
June 25th, 2009 at 9:05 am
I love your sentiment here.
Ash
June 25th, 2009 at 12:05 pm
I love your sentiment here.
Ash
June 25th, 2009 at 4:05 pm
I love your sentiment here.
Ash
March 29th, 2010 at 2:31 am
Although quite some time, may I say that you are a very lucky girl-you have a father so sweet, sentimental and thoughtful. Rare we can find such an awesome and kind father who finds time safekeeping things that we thought are just simple gifts, yet he finds it “treasure”. I'm sure your father is loved by many.