(Things that Made Me Happy this Week)
Our New Central Air System
(Also known as, This Year’s Surprise Summer Vacation. Also known as, Why Daddy’s Not Getting an Actual Gift for Father’s Day.)
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My Dad’s Memoirs
Growing up, I thought I had a rocky relationship with my dad. But now I understand that he was a quiet guy who didn’t really know how to engage with me, and I was an uber selfish kid who expected him to just “get it,” with no effort on my part. And it recently struck me that I didn’t know him at all. So I started asking questions about his life, his time in the Navy, and who he was before me and my brothers came along. He was happy to answer, but with the girls all over the place it was hard to really connect. And even harder to remember anything he said. Which made me sad and overwhelmed because where do you start with something so big? So I told him how I felt…and he wrote me his memoirs. BEST. PRESENT. EVER.
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“Hi, Mike, I Cindy. How you?”
I refuse to play anything Barbie-related. This drives ONE up the wall, but TWO? She likes to play by herself. I overheard her conversation and peeked in to find “myself” all dolled up and chillin’ with my Jacob-esque “husband.” The !!! of this, other than the accurate depiction of my husband’s masculine physique, is that I’M the one with clothes on because…
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That Morning I was Naked During Prayer Time.
I had just gotten out of the shower when my husband announced he had to leave for work. So I rushed out, in a towel, and grabbed the girls’ hands so we could say our prayers together. Right in the middle of ONE’s request that her Daddy not get stuck in traffic, her Daddy ripped off my towel. Pretty sure ONE hadn’t been referring to “traffic” of the cotton persuasion, but the good news is we can all safely say that our new central air system works. Well. (And PS: I’ll blaspheme with you anytime, Baby.)
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Jaggin’ with TWO
You can’t tell, but she’s as naked as the pita chips. I don’t know if it’s because that’s how she thinks we roll in this family now, just strip off our clothes and engage in normal, every day activities. But when she reached for what I eat in solitude, usually to the scorn of her sister, I couldn’t help but rejoice. (Next stop? All things “florentine.” We WILL have Feta eaters in this house, dammit.)
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Baseball at our House
My husband used to be a kick-ass baseball player, and he can still swing harder than anyone down at the playground. I’m guessing this probably wasn’t the way he dreamed of sharing the sport with his offspring one day, but he’s doing a kick-ass job coping.
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ONE Singing, “Ring of Fire” while She and TWO Danced.
And then she turned to me and said, “Mama? Do you love Daddy with a burning fire?”
ME: Yes, Pea, I do. (And even though he scoffs at my !!!, which is why this photo doesn’t have one…) He makes me the luckiest girl in the world.
ONE: Us too! He makes us lucky too!
Yes, he does. BEST. DADDY. EVER.
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What makes you
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!!! = Intentional Happiness
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Every week you make me smile. I just love this stuff. And your dad’s memoirs. Really that just made me cry. I wish someone would do that for me about my mom. (Okay, I’m not going there, this is supposed to be a happy post).
.-= Christine LaRocque´s last blog ..Everyday !!! =-.
What? Scoffs at the !!! Come ON! If my husband can get involved (in a sad-masochistic kill the McD’s toys kinda way) then Mike can GET ON BOARD, baby!
But seriously? If I had my father’s memoirs, I would be over the moon. I would kill for that. Maim, steal, lie, cheat, whatever. But now that he’s gone I hold on tight to tiny bits of letters he once wrote, and old photographs of him with an unruly red beard.
Happy !!! day.
.-= Sarah´s last blog ..!!! can be a bitch to find when you are having a craptastic week, but that’s exactly why you have to keep searching for it, intentionally =-.
So sweet! It’s nice to read about someone loving their husband, rather than bitching about him.
.-= Mrs.Mayhem´s last blog ..Unconfined Joy =-.
I have to admit, he is pretty !!!
Wow. That is an AMAZING gift from your dad!
.-= Hear Mum Roar´s last blog ..Our new playroom =-.
How cool is it that your dad wrote his memoirs for you? What a loving thing to do. Sounds like you have two awesome men in your life.
And hooray for naked prayers and baseball bats with girly stickers on them!
.-= TheKitchenWitch´s last blog ..Veg-Head Tuesday: The Spectacular Shroom =-.
I love the baseball picture ;) And that your kids sing Ring of Fire? Fabulous!
.-= Corinne´s last blog ..Full Bodied =-.
I know! I’ve been singing it all morning. Love me some Johnny Cash (!!!)
So, did you love that bill for the new AC???
We’ve replaced two so far in the last year. !!! has a new meaning when contemplating those bills.
.-= The Mother´s last blog ..The End of Civilization =-.
TWO of them? I’m afraid the only !!! I could squeeze out of that was the idea it will (hopefully) be over a decade before you’ll have to do it again.
Those were all great!!!
My !!! is a picture of all three of my boys, where for once they are looking at the camera. It makes me happy, although I would really like central air this year too. ;)
.-= Jen´s last blog ..What we do for fun. =-.
That is such an awesome !!!, Jen. It’s so nearly impossible to accomplish that.
aww! Too too good. Seriously.
.-= Vanessa´s last blog ..the heat =-.
Aww, man. Now I’m Jonesing for Stacy’s pita chips. Those things are to die for.
.-= Gibby´s last blog ..After The Rain =-.
Awww, those are awesome! Looks like you’ve been having some GREAT Mommy Moments!
.-= ShannonL´s last blog ..ConGRADuations! =-.
Hooray for AC! But the memoir, that’s a terrific gift, worthy of several !!!!!!!!!!!
.-= Kate´s last blog ..No camera, but !!! Anyway. (An extra post because intentional happiness is just too cool) =-.
I love the pink baseball bat :) and the nonchalance sitting next to it. Precious.
.-= BigLittleWolf´s last blog ..Miles to go before you sleep? (Wunderkind on “Work of Art”) =-.
I’m sorry….why was it that your husband felt that the best time to make you naked was during prayer time? That had to be an interesting turn of events for the girls to see!
.-= Futureblackmail´s last blog ..FRIENDSHIP BRACELETS =-.
I caught it in time, but it wouldn’t have mattered. My girls have such a strange fascination with my body (the remains of which I still blame on them), that they wouldn’t have thought anything of it. Perhaps I should be concerned?
Great tribute to the men in your life. We need to celebrate them more.
.-= Cathy´s last blog ..64 =-.
Great !!! moments with your husband and children this week and having your Dad write his memoirs for you is a triple triple !!! in my book.
My !!! this week is that my Dad arrived from England Tuesday night and is here for a week. I’ve not seen him in over a year AND he gets to be here for Fathers Day!
That is such an awesome !!!, especially since he’s coming form England and you get to hear his amazing accent. (Though I guess for you guys it’s normal, since you have the same accent. But still, just listening to you speak on your blog was very !!!) I hope you guys have a great week together.
It is so awesome that your dad wrote down his memoirs for you. It just really is.
.-= Cranky Sarah´s last blog ..The passing of a friend =-.
Naked is pretty standard around our house too. I usually walk out of the shower to check on the kiddo (our bathroom is right of the living room). He’s naked from the waist down all the time as a rule, since we’re potty training. I think we may be becoming a naked house.
.-= Allison @ Alli ‘n Son´s last blog ..Naps, Answers and Art =-.
I love me some Johnny Cash, especially Ring of Fire…and my hubby is pretty !!! too!
And PS. I am sure that naked prayers count just as much as those when you are fully clothed! ;)
.-= Maria´s last blog ..!!!-Intentional Happiness for the week of June 18, 2010 =-.
You, your photos and your amazing writing talent make me !!!. Love that your Dad wrote you his memoirs. Love the ways you capture your !!!. I’ve gotta get on board. I’ve got some to share.
.-= denise´s last blog ..Parallels =-.
You always write the nicest stuff about your husband. I can only hope that after the therapy we are in I will come to a point where I feel the same about my man. I yearn for what you have. You are doing so well, struggling like the rest of us but finding so much to triumph with. And I so wish my dad had decided to write before he died but he just didn’t feel like it somehow. He started but could’t focus maybe. Maybe having a short deadline was too much pressure for him. Who knows. I wish I had spent more time with him at the end but he actually cut it short so I didn’t have a choice. You and your daughters are really lucky to have that document. Overall, you’re doing so many things right!
.-= Mira´s last blog ..Customer Care returns =-.
At first I couldn’t get past the story about your dad. His memoirs?!? How flippin incredible is that. In fact, it choked me up. My dad isn’t a talker either. If he were to write his memoirs for me I would think it was the BEST. Gift. EVER, too !!!
Then the naked house. Oh yeah I relate to that. I insist on some underoos though. Holy heck living in a boy world is crazy some days.
You father’s memoirs – what a wonderful gift. I am glad you have that.
.-= Rudri Patel´s last blog ..Professor =-.
The thing I love best is that he ripped the towel off during prayers. I’m sorry. But I do. It shows so much romance. “I love ya naked while we’re praying.” Warms my heart. God’s glowin’. A burning ring of fire.
.-= rebecca @ altared spaces´s last blog ..baseball, rain-delays and relaxation =-.
Me too. I was surprised at how good that made me feel…even though it was freezing and I had a giggling audience. I guess it’s just nice to know that after all these years, it’s still sometimes like we’re the only ones in the room. (Even when we’re clearly not.)
Your Dad’s Memoir. BEST. PRESENT. EVER. And I agree. All we’re looking for in this world is a little bit of understanding and a present like that brings you closer together than ever. My Dad keeps scrapbooks of stuff, newspaper articles, photos, etc. I watch him put them together between meetings, work, hockey games, golf, pool, hiking, swimming, hanging out with friends, playing with his grandkids. Usually standing at the counter in his pharacy. It endears me to him, knowing that he is keeping this history for us.
Thanks for sharing your !!! for this week! Happy Father’s Day to the special guys in your life!
.-= Shawna´s last blog ..Tuesday =-.
Awesome list..and what a great gift to get your Dad’s memoirs!!
.-= Tiffany´s last blog ..Alone for the First Time =-.
Nakedness and Barbie. That is quite enough !!! in any household, I think. Apropos of nothing, my 6yo son said to me today, “Mom did you go to a beauty parlor today, because you look very pretty.”
Beauty parlor? I think maybe HE has been playing Barbie. But, !!! all the same.
.-= Jen´s last blog ..Appetite. =-.
I LOVE that !!!, Jen. Nothing makes me pause long enough to melt a little like a compliment like that from my girls…even when I know it’s because they want something. (I’m such a sucker that that crap!)
I think this is my favorite !!! thus far.
.-= Unknown Mami´s last blog ..Fragmented Fridays =-.
This is such a wonderful tribute to the men in your life. And the memoir gift? I wish I had the kind of relationship with my dad that I could even ask for such a gift. Truly beautiful.
.-= Jane´s last blog ..The Title Of My Commencement Address? Sixty-Nine. =-.
So far, this is the best !!! post ever. I don’t know which one was the best or which I envy more. Though I do wish my dad would write his memiors. I’m frightened of missing any of his stories.
.-= faemom´s last blog ..My commencement address: Ask someone else =-.
Left something for you on my blog….
.-= Maria´s last blog ..The man in my life… =-.
Air conditioning is good! I had a hard time getting close to my dad when I was a kid, too. My sister and my dad always “clicked” and had a great relationship. These days my dad and I are much closer and he is very dear to my heart. ;)
.-= theUngourmet´s last blog ..blueberry crumb bars =-.
What an amazing gift from your dad!
Mama Zen´s last [type] ..The Pot Calling The Kettle?
Some smart girls you’ve got.
And the marital love? No small thing. Makes you wealthy in the best way.
Enjoy !!!
6512 and growing´s last [type] ..This Moment
It cracks me up that your husband pulled your towel off during prayer time! It brings a new meaning to “Dear Lord,” :)
This must be the year of a/c problems! I, just got a new compressor in mine. Life is now comfortable again.
I *love* the love you have for your hubby! Happy father’s day to your wonderful husband!
Dawn´s last [type] ..Happy Father’s Day Mom!
Thank God for AC. Hope you sent the weekend enjoying cool, sweet air. Of course, if you were to turn it up a few degrees, you could have one more reason for naked prayers …
My !!! ? Sleeping in … My husband told me to go upstairs and go back to sleep after the baby got up this morning. Then he cooked dinner. On Father’s Day, no less! I think I’ll keep him.
Stacia´s last [type] ..Haiku Friday
Honestly, Stacia, that is one of the most glorious pairings of !!!s ever. What I wouldn’t give to be gifted with that today.
I adore this post. A-D-O-R-E. And I love a woman who can pray nekkid. :) You have a wonderful family, and how cute is it that your little girl was putting stickers on the baseball bat.
Have a great week!
~MrsFuda
MrsFuda´s last [type] ..Finally learning what a father should be…
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