Happy Fathers Day – Prose – FATHERHOOD Acrostic

Happy Father’s Day!!

It’s been a while since I’ve posted. In part, life and busy schedules, in part because I’ve been focused a bit more on editing my novel and other creative ventures. But, the last couple days have been a wonderful time and I wanted to share. Not to worry, I have a couple of things I’ve been working on that I’ll post soon and I also plan to do some catching up on blogs I like to frequent so be on the lookout for comments (even on some older posts you’ve made :D)

On to the last couple of days!

Fatherhood is a wonderful life experience. It’s a blend of teaching, learning, smiling, crying, bundle of fun mixed in with a bit of pain. I wouldn’t trade it for anything!
This year I was one of the fortunate ones as I was able to enjoy both sides of Father’s day. On Saturday, I had the wonderful opportunity to meet my mom and dad for breakfast at a local “country” restaurant. I had some errands to run after that but in the afternoon I was able to go out to “the farm” and spend a bit more time with them. While I enjoyed our breakfast time, this was the part of the day that really made me smile. When I got there, I was, as usual, greeted by my smiling, hugging mom… but where was my 85-year-old dad? Well, MacGyver, as mom sometimes refers to him, was out in the makeshift workshop building a custom fit, made from materials on hand, shelf to go over his desk. Mom and I went out to the garden to collect a couple of squash (ok more like eight!). I packed up a few more of my things from when I lived there for a short bit a few years ago then headed back out in time to see dad about to put the last few nails into the second back support board. “One thing’s for sure, when I make something, there will always be plenty of nails in it” he says. I smile and hold the last piece in place while he nails it in secure. I haul it into the house and like usual, perfect fit. Packing done, I head into the house, wash up and sit down to a wonderful bowl of soup, mom style. Delicious! And in true mom fashion, she packs a bunch of it for me to take
They are amazing! Still going strong, living and loving life and making things happen. My mom with her recent art show (I think she sold 5 or 6 paintings!), dad still doing mission trips to Africa. They are inspiring to say the least. My youngest had this to say today “I think he’s the most fit 85-year-old I’ve ever met.” Which leads me to today… and my Father’s day with my wonderful kids.
I started the day sitting on the back porch, with a cup of coffee, composition book and a pen… (look for a post in the next day or two  🙂 ).
At some point the kids showed up and we sat and ate chocolate (see the aftermath photo) and talked for a bit outside. Before heading in, I wandered over to the garden and collected several jalapeños. I headed in to make brunch and was accompanied by my lovely daughter who to my great enjoyment, grabbed her guitar and plugged it and the microphone into the amp and began to play and sing.
I made brunch of made-from-scratch pancakes (see photo), bacon cut from the side of the pig in the yard (kidding) and for myself I made an omelet (see photo – It looks a bit interesting in part because of the bacon grease but wow was it good). So, I’ve now got to spend a minute on the omelet. First, I drained the bacon grease out of the cast iron skillet and wiped it out a bit leaving some of the grease still in there. Cracked three eggs, scrambled them and tossed them into the pan. I added a four cheese mix and from the garden I added jalapeños and tomatoes. A bit of salt and mmm, mmm good.
While I was cooking brunch, the boys came in and joined into the singing and playing. Sometimes I heard two guitars, sometimes a guitar and a viola. Sometimes only one voice, sometimes all three. It was wonderful. On occasion, I’d run in, grab a guitar and join in for a bit. Or when I couldn’t leave the kitchen, I’d join in and sing harmony. What a blast!
We ate in the living room while we continued to play and sing. Quite a varied list of songs from a bunch of artists including:
Florence and the Machine
Death cab for cutie
Radiohead
James Taylor
Everlast
Fleetwood mac
Seether
Counting crows
Mumford and sons
The Who
The postal service…
So much fun, such talented kids!

We also ended up throwing the football and Frisbee, watering the garden (and my youngest kid :D) and even ended the day with all of us playing four square!

I am so blessed to have such talented, smart, loving and caring kids. It thrills me to be able to be a part of their lives, watching them grow, expand their horizons and express their uniqueness.

Another proud papa day for me… What a wonderful Father’s day. I love you kiddos! You are amazing one and all and I couldn’t be a prouder “Dowdy”, Dad, Pops, Father, friend. All names I treasure. Thanks for a wonderful day!

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Ok here’s a quick acrostic for FATHERHOOD

Fantastic
Amazing
Times
Hearing
Embracing
Rewarding
Humbling
Observing
Overjoyed
Dad

Stephen Kellogg – 2012
Peace,

 

Stephen

P.S. Look for more posts soon!