Answer Me This - Father's Day Edition

Linking up with Kendra for another edition of Answer Me This while Jon splashes in the kiddie pool with the girls....because he's the fun parent.

1. What's the best thing about your dad?

My dad died when I was just barely 2 years old, so I don't have any memories of him.  I guess I'll go with he gave life to me and 5 of my siblings.

That's me at about 1 year with my dad.  Excuse the glasses - it was the 70s.

2. If you have kids, what's the best thing about THEIR dad? (If you don't, feel free to substitute your grandfather or another father figure.)

I don't think I can choose just one thing.  Jon is patient about the things that stress me, he is a better housewife (cooking, cleaning, etc) than I am, he rarely complains no matter what the girls and I throw at him, AND he's the fun parent.  He's willing to let them play games on the ipad, read all the licensed character library books that I refuse to, sing silly made up songs to them, and play I Spy Snap (quite possibly the worst game ever invented) more than once a month.  He lets the girls help him with projects around the house and doesn't even bat an eye when they show up to help him hammer things wearing a tutu and a tiara.

Jocelyn and Meredith think the best things about their dad is that he plays with them, he is silly, and he takes them to Menards.

 He also lets me take pictures of him doing silly things with the girls, but I'm not allowed to share those photos with anyone, so this is the best you're going to get.  That's a bummer because I have some really good photos of him in bunny headbands and princess tiaras.  Just use your imagination.

Jon and Jocelyn September 2009.  She was a Daddy's girl from day one.

Father's Day 2011.  Meredith hadn't yet learned Jon is the fun one and only barely tolerated him holding her.

Apparently I need to take more photos of Jon and the girls.  This one is from last November just before our camera died and it's the most recent one I have.

3. What's the best advice your dad ever gave you?

While he was alive, it was probably something along the lines of "Don't put that in your mouth" or "Stop eating the dog food".

While he didn't live long enough for me to remember any of his advice, he did leave me a rosary that had belonged to his mother.  It's just a simple rosary with dark purple glass beads, but it does serve as a reminder to pray more often.  During the sixteen years that I was very apathetic about my faith, that rosary reminded me that my dad expected me to grow up to be a faithful Catholic.  That knowledge was part of what kept me going to Mass even when I thought I didn't believe in the existence of God and was part of what helped return to my faith in my early 30s.

4. What's something you have in common with your dad? 

There are probably some good things we have in common, but since most of my information on this topic comes from remembering times when my mom would roll her eyes and say "You're just like your father" I'll have to go with some of the less positive attributes.

He was stubborn and so am I.  The ability to debate well and enjoy a good argument go hand-in-hand with our stubborn natures.  Completely unrelated to that,  we both have hair that takes forever to get wet and twice as long to dry.

The weirdest trait we share is that of an itchy brain.  Growing up, I thought everyone occasionally had that odd feeling that makes you wish you could just pop your skull open for a minute and scratch your grey matter.  One day in frustration, I voiced that wish out loud.  My mom turned and looked at me with wide eyes and told me that aside from my dad, I was the only person that she had ever heard complaining of an itchy brain.  Does anyone one else ever feel this way?

 5. What's the manliest thing you know how to do?

I can fix stuff.  Growing up in a single parent family with little spare money, I learned how to do lots of small repairs.  Having an analytical mind helps too.  My favorite thing to fix is the dryer, though the last time I fixed that I ended up creating a much bigger issue that I was not able to fix.
After hearing a weird sound whenever I turned the dryer on, I did a little research and a little disassembly and determined I needed some part  for the drum.  I called the local appliance parts store and after learning they had the part in stock and it was inexpensive, I loaded the girls into the minivan, and took off for the store.  In my excitement, I momentarily forgot that the van was squeezed into our 1940s single car garage.  It fit but care had to be taken when backing out and pulling in as there were only a couple of inches of clearance on either side of the van.  As I backed out quickly, I failed to check the clearance on the passenger side.  I remembered to check as I heard the sideview mirror being ripped from the van.

That's not the worst part of the story.  As it turns out, the new dryer part didn't fix the noise.  A little more disassembly uncovered a sucker stick and a Lego weapon were the true cause of the noise.

Fortunately my husband can fix things too.  Things like installing and painting new car mirrors.

Reading back over this, I'm realizing this is probably not the best story to share to prove my manliness.  I really can fix stuff and it usually turns out okay.....except that time I touched a bare copper wire.

Anyway.  Let's move on to the next question.

6. Who is your favorite fictional dad?

I'm sure I'm going to read other responses to this and realize there are better selections that the one I'm going to choose, but my insomnia has a stranglehold on me this week and I don't have much brainpower left.  Soo....I choose the dad in the Frances books. I love that he can play with Frances and Gloria and have fun, but he is clearly a parent and not their friend.  He means what he says and the badger children know it.  In Bedtime for Frances, he is patient and humors her attempts to stay up, but when he's had enough he lays out clear rules and consequences.  While Frances is tempted to push the boundary, she doesn't.  I also like that he has a deep appreciation for everything his wife cooks.

I think Jon would probably choose the dad in the Knufflebunny books by Mo Willems.  He loves the facial expressions on the dad as he has to do things like call another dad in the middle of the night because his daughter lost her beloved bunny.


If you're looking for more grown-up answers to question #6 go see Kendra at Catholic All Year.