Father's Day

All across America, baby daddy's are being celebrated today. Being a father is such a unique gift. There is nothing as exceptional, as the love of a child.

I awoke to a note draped over my shoulder and a child squirting out of the room in the hopes I would not see her and believe the document had magically appeared. I had enjoyed a Costco margarita the night before, which lead to a very nice 11 hour slumber, however, I seem to have good peripheral vision and a sixth sense for sneaky children as one of my parental superpowers.

The note read:
"Do not come into the kichen. I love you dad."

I glanced at my wife, and was told my eldest daughter had planned something herself, and she suggested I comply.

I piddled, changed, prepared for the day, and walked into the living room. I was immediately greeted with a loving grateful smile, and knew instantly a 7 year old had put her heart into planning my morning.

I was directed to sit on the couch, and was told we needed to check in with the waitress. My oldest executed a quick change Nathan Lane would have been proud of, and the entire family checked in with her for breakfast at a stool that doubled as a counter, and received immediate seating at our "restaurant"

The table was set very well. Placemats were square with the centerpiece, each setting had a spoon, fork, knife and napkin, along with a glass of ice water. There was only one menu for the entire table. I realized this concept was unique. Most of the fancy restaurants I have been to have an overabundance of menu's. Our menu was quite simple. We had a choice of the "Speshal". Having only one menu for the entire table made for some great conversation and communication within the meal party. Perhaps this format for a new restaurant? Anyways:

The menu had 2 choices, soup, or eggs. It has been a while since I had a soup for breakfast, so my interest was piqued. I asked the 7 year old chef what the soup was, she replied, "vegetables chopped up in a broth, like a soufflé" At this moment, I knew that Gordan Ramsey's Masterchef Junior had made an impact. My wife and I have never cooked a soufflé, and frankly, that a 7 year old would default to this as a menu option tells you a bit about the impact television has on a kid. Intrigued, I considered ordering the "soup that tastes like a soufflé" but decided, eggs was a better option. Coffee with eggs was ordered, and my father's day adventure began.

The family sat down with me, and we discussed the number of the eggs our chef should cook. We recommended 7 eggs for the 4 of us, however, our chef let us know the most eggs she had ever cooked was 11, and because of this, she wasn't sure she could cook 7... After a quick math discussion and the pre requisite warnings about being cautious with the stove, she began. There were no injuries, no undercooked eggs, and nothing was spilled on the floor. This is success.

My coffee was excellent, the Keurig was a wonderful invention, not just for daddy's with daughters on father's day, but for consistent morning cups of joe when you can barely wake up.

I've never had better eggs. They were made with love

Mid roe ingestion, I realized that a present had been prepared for me. A gigantic smile walked up and handed me a bag with colored cellophane paper covering the opening.

As I extracted the handmade card inside the bag, I read my way through the handwritten poem. It didn't rhyme, and I couldn't consider it jazz, as it didn't syncopate well. It contained the word love at least 4 times, and more importantly, it was written from the heart.

I reached into the bottom of the bag and pulled out a photo frame. Not just any photo frame, but a handmade frame, surrounded by rocks which were hand glued on the frame. It held 2 photos of my daughters, and in the center, a handwritten note which said, "you rock dad"

Inside, I realized something I've known for a while but don't like to admit. Outside, I smiled and gave my daughters a kiss.

Father's day is "speshal"
Father's day means stay out of the "kichen"
Father's day means "soup or eggs"

Today I am thankful to be a father of two wonderful girls

bvd