My Father’s Day today more than made up the fact that I didn’t really “have” a birthday last month. Really. There were two moments of “sigh” but the rest of the day was simply fantastic.
One of the sigh moments was due to the fact that I couldn’t get James or Melyssa today. She had her dance recital at 1pm and James had a baseball game that he really wanted to go to at 6:30pm. It would have been extremely hectic and crazy a day trying to fit in any “real” family time within those constraints and thus I agreed to not fight for them. After all, legally I’m entitled to having them on Father’s Day. However, in a continued attempt to keep things cordial between everyone – and the fact that I’m trying to keep their best interests at heart – I agreed to let this slide. What with school ending this upcoming Friday and my beginning our summer visitation schedule, it was easier to do.
The way I looked at it – I simply thought of them as living in another city (which, technically, they do) and accepted being able to talk to them on the phone. It’s private enough and we did get to talk about a number of things so it was nice. At least it was real. Unfortunately, when I called my own father to wish him a Happy Father’s Day and chat with him a bit, he was just beyond grumpy. I guess in his eyes there’s no excuse for not getting together today or any other day.
Yes, I only have one father, and yes there will come a day when he won’t be around any more, etc etc etc. However, there is another important fact for me. I have a new family and I wanted to spend my day with them. I’ve never had a chance to be “spoiled” on Father’s Day before and I wanted to be. If my parents for one moment truly BELIEVED in the spirit of Father’s Day (or Mother’s Day or celebrating ANY event) then perhaps things would be different. But, as it is, although they may look for any reason to get together – we often DON’T celebrate the fact that we ARE together when we do so. Every such visit ends up being a Forumla-1 style race to eat as much as possible as quickly as possible (yes, I’m obviously Italian) without any true interaction. And then, after the meal, my dad excuses himself to go lie on the couch upstairs feigning fatigue and a desire to rest. As he’s done for as long as I’ve been alive.
What compounds the sigh factor during these family events is the fact that whenever James and Melyssa aren’t around, there’s my Mother lamenting the fact that we’re not all “together” (yes, even when they are around, she usually ends up lamenting the fact that we’re not ALWAYS “together”). Of course I love my family, and of course they’re not perfect. But I guess like most everyone else, there are some days they’re easier to deal with than others. Heck, seeing as I’ve always been the black sheep of the family it doesn’t bother me in the least to continue being the black sheep 🙂 And thus my desire (more and more often) to spend my time in happier circumstances. Trust me, there’s quite a different atmosphere whenever I pop in for an unplanned visit. Those usually end up a lot nicer mainly because there’s no “stress” involved (of my Mother trying to feed a dozen different plates to a dozen different tastes).
And thus, shrugging my shoulders to the things outside my control (being things I was in no mood to fight for, with, or about), my very happy day went thus:
Early this morning, Chantale and Kyle took me to Cora’s for a Father’s Day’s Brunch 🙂 Chantale’s parents also joined us and it was a pleasant morning. In fact, it was the first time Kyle’s been there without being stuck in his car seat 🙂 He sat in a high chair and enjoyed a wide variety of fruits along with his milk 🙂 Afterwards, Chantale’s parents came to our place in order to pick up Casey and left with Kyle whom they would watch. Chantale and I stayed home, chatting, looking through photographs, and then relaxing in the sun until it was time for us to leave. We headed out to Kirkland theatre where we finally got to see X-Men 3: The Last Stand. Wow. Really. Outside of a few small items I wasn’t expecting, I really got a kick out of this movie. Yes, there were some things they could have explained more on or taken more time with, but overall it was a solid edition to the franchise. And should it really stop here, well that’s okay, too.
After the movie, we headed over to her parents’ place where we were to have supper with Chantale’s sister and her boyfriend’s parents. Their daughter was also there with her young son (14 months) and it was fun to see him and Kyle play together. Chantale’s sister got a promotion to manage a store in Ottawa/Nepean and since she’s leaving on friday, we all got together for a good-bye supper (along with father’s day supper). It was a nice evening but by 7pm Kyle was wiped.
We headed home and as we parked in the driveway, Chantale handed me my Father’s Day gift. Yeah, I know I was super spoiled. Breakfast, a movie, supper, and now a gift? Woah! A beautiful, sentimental, and heartwarming card came first and then, a most amazing sculpture. It’s a resin figurine cast from original carvings by Kansas artist Susan Lordi. This one is entitled “New Dad” and it’s distributed by Willow Tree. Actually, I’ll upload a picture of it 🙂
It touched me so deeply that I was incapable of speaking for a few minutes afterwards. Tears welled up in my eyes at the love that was displayed through that figurine. When you hold, play, and care for a little child, you know they love you as only they can. But to feel that love magnified by the actions and emotions of your wife – the person you’ve dedicated to sharing your life with – well, smiles and tears really do speak volumes 🙂 What a wonderful, beautiful, and amazing day I had today. It truly felt like a Father’s Day. A day where *I* was celebrated.
