Today is Father’s Day, one of those days of the year that tends to involve a myriad of emotions. For some it may be the time to reflect on the lack of a Father in their life, for others it may mean driving around visiting various male relatives and dropping off small gifts.
Today, I did a bit of both. While I did not have a Father figure in my life, I also didn’t suffer because of it and have never really given much thought to the matter. My thoughts did travel toward my impending divorce, and the affect of an absentee Father on my own children. While I never got to know my Father (which I expect had a distinct impact on why I don’t care that he wasn’t around), my children did get to know my soon-to-be ex-husband. In many ways, that has been hard on them, my daughter particularly. In truth, women who have had experiences with men who care nothing for their children may be quick to shun the whole gender as an abject failure — were it not for those few men out there which give us the faith to believe that not all men are cut of the same cloth.
That said, my mom and I packed up my children, and went to see my Grandfather at work. We brought him snacks to share with his co-workers (a divine treat we make called Armadillo Eggs, if you must know – I think I’ll share the recipie at some point). After that, we loaded the kids back up, and went a few blocks away from there to see my Great-Grandfather (married in), now housebound and back in the care of his direct family. He was waiting for us on the front porch, a fan going strong in the 95F+ degree weather. My children were, of course, utter monsters. About 15 minutes later I was literally hefting and dragging my thrashing and tantruming son to the van. My daughter, not to be outdone, made sure to talk back enough to get a good tongue lashing about it on the drive home.
Ah… family life. There are times I truly wish that both those men in the family were inclined to use the Internet – then I could’ve sent an e-card. If you happen to be so fortunate, here are a few places to look:
123Greetings
CardFountain
Funny-ecards
All4Love
If all else fails — make sure to bring some duct tape for when the children start thrashing around and you have to try to get them to the car without getting kicked in the knee or headbutted.
~Nicole
