Sunday, June 20, 2010

Privileged to be Such a Happy Father

 
Today, on Father's Day, I feel so happy — honored, privileged, blessed, lucky, amazed — to be the Father that I am to my two sparkling young daughters, and the loving husband to "My Beloved and my Friend", my sweet wife — now for more than 3 decades. Wow! Talk about “Count Your Blessings” !!
On the left is the card that my youngest daughter skillfully made and presented to me today. It was from a picture that she took during a Mother's Day family outing we did to a local state park (Willard Brook in Ashby) for a picnic last May. And though it looks like I'm a happy and balanced "tight rope walker"… the truth is that that skinny log was very wobbly and were it not for the 10' balance pole that I had — and used to hold me up (more like a crutch) for most of the way across the river — I would have been in the drink about 5 seconds after I started. She managed to capture me in that space of confidence and control during the only 2 seconds that I was in that space during the entire "adventure". She also did an amazing job of enhancing the color contrasts and the "lights and dark greens" in the photo, which in its original form really wasn't that great a picture. All 'n all it was a very loving gesture.

After getting that card and others, I went off to sing with my UUC Groton choir — our last "official duty" before the congregation switches to "summer mode" until the Fall, and that was very enjoyable and satisfying — as it always is.

Following that we had a terrific picnic at our local lake / beach (Sargisson Beach — Knops Pond, Lost Lake) in Groton where my sweetie and I sat on canvas chairs with our feet in the cool lake water as the heat of the day took over and left us not wanting to be anywhere else imaginable.

And then as the day cooled off we all went into Boston to meet up with our other daughter and her beau at NEU. We ended up feasting — a seafood extravaganza — at a favorite, The Barking Crab, on the Boston waterfront… followed by a gleeful promenade from there to Faneuil Hall following The Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy Greenway — my first real experience of the whole project, now that it (appears to be!?) finished. Can anything associated with The Big Dig ever actually be "completed"!?

Ah... such is life for me in the family that I have been truly blessed to be part of.
 

2 comments:

NANCI PHELAN said...

WOW, you are blessed indeed. And a Happy Father's Day to you from Canada. I know you have been a terrific Dad and how great that your daughter took the time to make this card. It shows your for ever spirit of adventure. Why am I thinking back to tree forts and ducks.

The Other Daughter said...

It really was a great outing. This is a wonderful post, papa. You've really got a handle on this whole "voicing your gratitude" and counting your blessings deal. I'm proud of you, and really enjoyed reading this