Father's Day

Happy Father's Day! We are together at our house by the beach all day. It is one hot day everywhere else and so happy that we are only going to a high of 74 degrees. Perfect! Windows are all opened, the ocean breeze is blowing through the house and the gardens look great.

I am sure William will phone his dad while on tour in England today. They are so close. It is joyful as a mom to watch their interactions. I get his financial or business questions. Michael gets the rest.

Christein arrived last evening, we chatted into the night and just finished breakfast. We are planning an afternoon lunch/supper of the Heritage Pork Chops, applesauce, a salad, Pancetta and Porcini Mushrooms Potato Gratin and Strawberry Pie. Oh, YUM!

My dad. He died almost 20-years ago and I still miss his humor and wisdom so much. There were times when I was going through the lawsuits regarding my illness when I really needed him. He was smart and thought like an attorney. He was an amazing dad. A teaching father, not a punitive one. We were never spanked but none of us wanted him to be disappointed in us. That kept us on the straight and narrow. He used humor to teach. I am sure I would have been in a lot a trouble as a teenager if I had not had such a strong dad.

I remember when I turned 13-years old, he toasted to me and said that they were finished. I was now a teenager. They would be watching how I conducted myself to see if they raised me well, or not. I was in charge of myself, which is Scorpio's dream. Perfect! He also told me that there will be times when he would have to make a decision against something that I wanted to do but that he would not be able to explain why. He told me not to feel like I was being punished but that he had lived longer and was more experience in life. He was making the choice because I was precious to him and so loved.

How's that for a dad?

So, how did I pass that down to our son? He was older when Michael suggested that we put him in charge of himself. I have blogged the story before but in short, we removed all curfews when he was almost a junior in high school. The deal included if he had a problem getting up in the morning or if his grades dropped, we would have to pull back, wait a bit and try again. Neither happened. He actually began to come home much earlier. We never believed in grounding as we believed with dealing with the issue: what happened, what should have happened, what will happen the next time. Done.

William was a quick learner. He was not a child who needed to be told something over and over and over again. A simple statement of what needed to happen and he just did it. An easy child to raise.

So, this Father's Day I am smiling at my sweet husband who is such a great Father to our son but I also see so much of my dad in him. Michael learned so much just watching my dad. When Michael does something similar to what my dad would do, mom jokes that Michael inherited that from my dad. So sweet. I am so blessed.