Father's Day

Today is father's day-surprise, surprise. If you are in fact surprised, it is too late. You might as well throw in the towel and make an apology phone call to the man who helped raise you. There are a plethora of excuses you could use so, use a good one. However, don't worry, he will still love you, hopefully.

This is the first fathers day I get to spend with my family in two years and man does it feel good. I just returned home from a lovely lunch with my parents at Giuseppe's, a wonderful little Italian restaurant, sheltered in an antique house. If you have never been, it is worth the trip. The head chef and owner, Giuseppe is ACTUALLY from Italy. (Imagine that, an Italian restaurant where the owner is actually Italian-what a novelty).

I love father's day, I always end up crying on father's day. Though as I am getting older, I am starting to cry more often (I guess that is my aunt Gena coming out in me-she is known as the family cryer).  As I am writing this, I cannot help but be overcome with a feeling of awe. It is amazing to me and yet not too unusual to hear about the amount of people who lack a strong and supportive male role model in their lives. Yet here I am with more than I can count on both my hands. I don't think I ever appreciated that as much as I do now. Why? Because I never knew any different. From the moment I marched out of my mother's womb (and oh did I march) I was always surrounded by fatherly love and care, whether is was from my grandfather, uncles, cousins, or my own father, I never had to reach far to receive the unique and usually frustratingly true advice that only a true father can give. I say true father because there is a difference between a father-someone who supports you, laughs with you, listens to you, and truly loves you- and a father who only supplies the other chromosome needed to create you and nothing more.

I find that as the date for my departure to South Korea is looming closer, I am becoming more nostalgic and a bit somber. Although I will only be gone for 4 months, one of my biggest fears is not only losing my own, dear father but also losing any father figure in my life.  Especially while I am not somewhere where I can't quickly hop in the car and arrive within 2 hours. We have had a few close calls when I was younger with my dad but, I think as I am now older the most prevalent close call was when my uncle, Dennis, had a heart attack. I can't imagine losing anyone in my family. I could be accused of loving too hard. But that is OK, I will gladly commit that crime.