Sunday was a tough day for me. It was a little less than a year ago that my father passed away and about a year and a half since Ross passed. While it was great having our son, Jay around for the weekend and for our daughter Katie and her husband, Brian, around for Saturday, there still left lots of time for reflection. I can’t remember a year that I wasn’t with my Dad on father’s day. Since having the lake house, my Mom and Dad would come up and spend the day. I usually found something for him to help me fix, which he both was great at and loved to do. Time spent on the dock fishing usually was part of the day also. My Dad would love for Ross to come down and go fishing with him also. While Ross didn’t have that long of an attention span,it was amazing to see how long he and his Poppa would sit on the dock, fish and chat. Very special memories of the two of them together. Another memory was, silly enough, our golf cart. You have to picture this beast. it is an old EZ-Go that has been put on lifters, with big knobby tires and painted camouflaged. Ross loved to ride with me in the golf cart. Didn’t matter if i was driving in the front yard, down to the dock, or around the neighborhood to visit people. He loved doing shout outs along the way. “Hi George! Hi Cosmo!” “Hi Girl!”. Just makes me smile thinking about how he loved everyone.
Fathers day weekend brought the first NASCAR race to MIS and also the huge Loch Erin garage sale. The whole lake was filled with houses selling their stuff. Ross and I would hop in the golf cart and drive completely around the lake. Looking at pretty much junk and visiting. How he loved to visit. About the farthest point across the lake are our friends Larry and Laura. We would pull up in front of their garage and Laura would give us a big hello. Ross would immediately ask where Larry was. He always liked asking and once Laura got Larry to come out, it was a quick “Hello” and then time to go. Off to the next visiting spot. I took that ride around the lake this past Saturday. Missed it that last couple years. Was pretty lonely riding alone. But, I stopped and visited, looked at some stuff and of course said “Hi” to Larry. Just wasn’t the same though. The golf cart played a role with my Dad also. I would pull in front of his car and help take his fishing tackle and poles down to the lake. The last few years also meant helping Dad down too. His knees just weren’t holding out and he needed assistance. I liked riding with him down and them helping him down the dock to the chairs. He would sit there fishing. Always enjoying the lake and company. I know he really missed his buddy too. I just haven’t had the urge to fish this year. I am sure I will wander down there when my friend Mike comes over or maybe if I pick up some night crawlers. Just miss seeing those guys down there. Sunday night, Julie, Jay and I were watching TV after having my Mom, Aunt and Uncle over and Julie’s Mom and Step-father. It was a full day with lots to eat. A beautiful weather day. Beautiful, yet tough. Around 9:45 the phone rang. Here it was Katie. She has been working all day, since 7 that morning. Had just got home. She called to wish me a “Happy Fathers Day”. Hearing her on the phone and spending time with Jay allowed the challenges of my day melt away and know how lucky I am to have these great kids. I would always have wonderful memories of Father’s Day and this year will just add another very special one.