Love: Dads...

You learn very important things from your Grandfather - I think this look is hereditary!!!

It was my Dad's birthday yesterday. He is such a wonderful Dad. Do you every look back on your childhood with adult eyes? He always was a great fellow, even looking back. He was kind, calm, clever... I could ask my Dad a question and he always knew the answer. Sometimes he resorted to the 'Pears Encyclopedia" but he took the time and was a great teacher.

If we were ill in the night we would always wake him because he awoke easily and never grumbled. I used to feel sorry for him that he had no friends and didn't go down to the pub like the other Dads. Now of course I look back and see the family man that he was. God love him. He spent time in the Antarctic when he was 19 doing "weather stuff" and was very self sufficient. He cooked and sewed and was very handy in general. It was nothing for us to ask him to whip up a skirt for the sports carnival the night before (adult eyes say OMG). He would draught a pattern a-n-d put in a zip and button hole! See, great Dad... He sounds very interesting doesn't he? He is.

Dad loved fishing and we would make sure he took us three children along as well. We would make him promise to wake us at 5 am and off we would go. We didn't really like fishing but we didn't want him to be alone! I'm sure he would have l-o-v-ed a bit of time to himself. He would have to fish our thongs out of the water, take us to the loo and untangle our impossible tangles. When we got home we would rush in and tell Mum that he "never caught a thing". Is it any wonder? I asked him a few years ago why we took us when really there was no peace for him. He said that he did because we wanted to go and he used to go fishing with his Dad when he was younger. Aaaawwww, what a guy!!! I bet they caught stuff.

My Dad l-o-v-e-s his Grandchildren and as the Silver Fox's Dad died before Miss T was born, he has taken the responsibility of being a Grandfather very seriously. He teaches the children little things.  Miss T was congratulated in woodwork the other day because of her ability to saw a piece of wood. "My Grandfather taught me" she proclaimed. She could also make a super paper plane at the age of 3 because of him. When Miss T was toilet training and she had an accident, she had a terrible habit that before you could get near her, she had said pants whipped off and would flick them like crazy. She did it for months. Not really very nice but we couldn't understand where she had picked up that little gem from!!! Until.... One day we were at my parents for a swim and my Dad changed from his swimmers and calmly went to the side of the pool and shook them like crazy to get the water out... A little lightbulb went off and I yelled at him "It's you"!! He had such a guilty look on his face. We laughed for ages...

So Happy Birthday to my lovely Dad. You have your hands full dealing with Mumsy as she lives more and more between twilight. You do so with such grace and patience. We love you so much and are very proud to have you in our lives...

 Ciao for now...