Everything's Quiet On Father's Day

 The last FD I got to thank my Dad for all he meant to me was in June of '82 -- now 44 years gone by. He was, I think, still in the hospital having suffered a pretty serious MI -- back in those days, once the cath showed the damage, there wasn't much more to do. He was released right around July 4, and it seemed he would recover, but on July 14th he had a fatal heart attack, and that was, as they say, that.

Wifey's Dad got his final one more than a decade ago, though he got to meet and know his granddaughters, my Ds.

Back when the Ds were little, their Summer Day Camp at the JCC always held the welcome on Father's Day. We'd all gather in the large gym, the kids would meet their counselors and learn their "bunks," and we would learn that Summer's camp theme -- always some clever lyrics set to a famous tune.

It was such a happy day -- from there -- we would go have FD lunch either with my suegros, or at a restaurant. Man, those days of being a father to actual children seems so far in the past. I guess it was. As I remind D1, to her annoyance, she creeps perilously close to middle age herself -- she turns 38 this November. Sunrise; sunset indeed.

Chris Rock had a great routine comparing MD to FD -- MD was the real holiday, and FD the po relation. All HIS Dad got was the bigger piece of chicken.

Tomorrow, THIS Dad will get some prime beef and martinis at Platea -- we have 2 pm reservations for all grownups, including Barry, Donna, and Josh. It should be a lovely day.

D2 already sent me a heart felt email, and told me to accept it as my FD note. I did. And it turns out, though I KNOW I'm a top Dad, I DID make plenty of mistakes along the way. And that's fine.

My Dad didn't have too much time, in my view, to make lots of mistakes with me -- certainly as an adult son of his. He was loving, and supportive, and SO proud of me. Since he was 42 when I was born, he was a sort of Dad/Grandad combo -- I always felt extremely lucky to have had him, but bereft to have NOT had him for so long. But as Robert Hunter wrote in  his great song about the death of HIS Dad: "Such a long, long time to be gone, and a short time to be there."

So I plan to savor tomorrow. And reflect on my Dad, too -- the barely more than 2 decades I had him in my life.

And Monday, I got Marlins tickets -- to attend the game with the Tartan Army -- the visiting Scottish soccer fans in town for Wednesday's match with Brazil. That ought to be lots of laughs -- they drank Fenway Park dry, and are known for singing and laughter and putting traffic cones on the heads of statues -- also giving charity to kids' hospitals and cleaning up after themselves.

And Tuesday, Wifey is set to drive up to FLL and fetch her BFF for 5 nights at a beach resort in Highland Beach, though today she tells me that possible rainy conditions might cause them to cancel. Either way -- I plan to see my boys Tuesday after THEIR camp -- Ds, too.

My Dad loved to sing the jingle about my Mom's life "Everyday is Mother's Day for You." The same is true for me and FD.