M&M's. In the dark with m&m's with a stranger who talked to me all night long. This is my first memory of the person who would become the only dad I ever knew. My dad spent nights after my adoption from Korea helping me adjust to the time difference, staying up with me during the nights and feeding me chocolate candies. I know he talked to me all night long, he held me on his lap and told me stories I didn't understand because I spoke no English and he spoke no Korean. But we spoke the universal language of m&m's.
As the years passed, my dad gave me sweet memories. Laughter from cooking disasters, lessons from mistakes I made, time spent together in the wood shop pounding nails into blocks, and sowing the seeds of my fondness for sci-fi movies. We have butted heads, he has suffered through my rebellious years, I rolled my eyes through the "you just don't get it years"…..thankfully, we both made it through alive. All these years later, I have this wonderful dad, I have this fantastic grandfather for my kids, and I will always be thankful to him for being the kind of father who sat up through the night with an unhappy little girl in one hand and m&m's in the other. I thank God for knowing that this quiet, funny, patient (most of the time), loving man was the father that I needed and gave him to me to call Dad.
I remember the day that Pete became a dad. The day before he became a dad was the most stressful day he'd ever had. We sat on the couch together and had to convince ourselves just to leave the house to go to the hospital and have that baby. So unsure of what the future held, scared of the kind of father he would be, worried about the responsibilities about to be laid in his lap with the birth of this first child. Because we consistently napped through lamaze class, all Pete could remember to tell me during labor was "Be a floppy rag doll!"….I truly considered punching him in the face after about the 200th time he told me that. You be a floppy rag doll, I'm tying to push out a Buick!!! But Nathaniel did finally make his appearance. Peter was a dad. A father.
I will never forget that look on his face. That smile. They say that mothers have a glow. I did not glow. Pete did. He was so enraptured by that little ball of skin and hair and fingers and toes, it was enthralling to watch them fall in love with each other. THAT is love at first sight.
It's always been a joy to watch Pete in his role as a father. Watching him learn to give those first baths, to diaper those little skinny behinds, to hold a bottle and smile when they burp…to see their little fingers wrap around his much bigger ones and just lay there gazing as they cuddle together in bed, synchronized sleeping. I will never forget the day that Nathaniel, who was still nursing, rolled the wrong way in bed one morning and starting rooting around on Pete's chest for breakfast and traumatized him for life….I laughed til I cried. Peter as a father of daughters has been a non stop thrill, his unsurpassed glee when they get down on the floor and play with army guys and his willingness to add Polly Pockets to the mix.
When you're a little girl and you dream of the guy that you will someday marry and the family you will have, I truly thought that I would be married to Kirk Cameron….but this is so much better. I am grateful for Pete and the traits that he has that balance me out and make me complete. We are not without flaws and our bang it out moments, but there is no person that I would chose to walk through this life with than Pete.
So, this morning when breakfast in bed died a slow painful death because we had no eggs, no coffee and less than an ounce of milk….he was cool with it. When his card came with a message "gift to be added in near future"….no big deal. Happy Father's Day, Pete!
Happy Father's Day to all the Dads of the world….the ones who go to work and bring home the paycheck, the ones who stay home and pack lunches, the ones who keep immaculate lawn, the ones who have to attack the grass with a machete, the ones who iron their own clothes, the ones who sniff their clothes to see if they're clean, the ones who do dishes, the ones who buy paper plates, the ones who take their kids to the theatre, the ones who teach their kids the intricacies of football, the ones who sit down with their kids each night at dinner, and the ones who only get to spend the weekends or holidays together….Happy Father's Day.
f.r.o.G…fully relying on God
—Anissa
on Jun 18th, 2007 at 8:44 pm
What wonderful stories about the two Dads in your life Anissa!Do you have any photos of yourself with your Dad when you arrived here? It would be really neat to have one posted here with you and your Dad! I love the new banner at the top of the site, very cool!
Love,
Grandma Pat
on Jun 18th, 2007 at 9:50 pm
Happy Be-lated Father's Day, Pete. Keep up the good work,
love,basi