Father's Day

Celebrating holidays takes extra planning in Morocco. It just does. I thought I had it down. I started to think about Father's Day a couple of months in advance. What will I get Craig? How will I get it here? Will it come in time? I worried so much about getting just the right something that I didn't plan the day. I just figured that would be the easy part. It's that can't see the forest or the trees thing. Or the forest for the trees. Or the leaves on the trees in the forest. You know what I mean...

I wanted to get something really great for Craig. Some token of his amazing dad-ness. But as I've mentioned before, shopping here is really uninspiring. Especially for dads. Unless the man in your life really loves olives, which Craig doesn't. Really. I've got nothing here. And after contemplating what to get him and consulting one of Craig's brothers, I decide on ordering an ipod and a speaker. Totally lame I know. But I go ahead and order it anyway. Then right after I do I remember that the last time I ordered electronics from here, delivery was rejected by the Embassy mail system. Crap. I feared the same thing would happen this time. We'll just wait and see. Our mail gets delivered to Craig's office. I never told him I was expecting a package and not to open anything. So in early May when a box appears he opens it and and calls me perplexed. So I do the only thing a person equally surpirsed about the appearance of the box would say. Surprise! Happy Father's Day!

So late this week I start to think about what we'll do on Father's Day. I know what he'd like to do. Go to the beach and surf. Except that we have the most crazy jam packed weekend of goodbyes. Sky and Jade's best friends here in Morocco are moving back to the states and we have an assortment of other events on top of that. Then I realize that trip to Cameron that Craig's going on that seemed so far away months ago isn't so far away anymore. It's this Saturday night, the night before Father's Day. Crap. I didn't even covertly organize the kids to make a card for him in the chaos. Super crap. I know. I'll get up before Craig and make his favorite breakfast of chocolate chip pancakes. That didn't happen either. Crapity Crap. I suck!



So I acknowledge my suckitude and ask if he'd like me to make him those pancakes that I was going to make BEFORE he got up on this Father's Day Eve. Much to my surprise, he doesn't want his favorite chocolate chip pancakes. He wants my tomato and goat cheese omelet. Whhhhhhhaaaaaattttt? Is this the man I married who wouldn't eat a tomato for his life? So many things have changed in the 19 years we've been married. First of all, we have 4 kids. Second of all we're old. Third my husband eats tomatoes! Who is this man?



I don't have any bacon but I have oranges to make some fresh orange juice to accompany the eggcellent breakfast. Luckily, I do make an awesome omelet. Unfortunately it's not awesome enough to make up for the Father's Day disasters. This day doesn't convey how great a father Craig is. He's the more patient one of us. He's the one who can make the kids better when they're sick. He's the playful one. He's the grounded one. He's the smart one. He's the wise one. He is the logical one and the one that can do math. Thank god. And I've got a confession, he's the one I'd like to be more like.



Other things I don't have:
Baseball skills.
The imagination to see the beautiful, shinny 1962 airstream of my dreams in that rusty rundown trailer.
The fortitude to stick with a project, especially if it involves math.
The creativity to build a stage in the living room when my crazy ass wife thinks this is a great idea. And the fortitude to find, purchase and transport two skee ball machines because the crazy ass wife also came up with that one.
The ability to stitch up the gash my own leg and then allow the kids to play doctor and stitch it up without anesthetic. Did I mention he let our kids take a needle to his leg???
The patience to come home to crazy ass wife and crazy ass kids after having patience with patients all day.
The thoughtfulness and diligence and work it took to search for a couple of years to find me my dream car, a 1969 orange Karmann Ghia to surprise me with on my 40th birthday.

Since we can't reach you by phone in Cameron today to say Happy Father's Day I hope you can check your e-mail and see this post. I'm sorry for the lame ass day and the crazy ass wife that you have. I truly don't deserve you. We love you!

Happy Father's Day!