Sunday, June 21, 2009

Ask Dad. He Knows. **

Happy Father's Day to the dads, granddads, godfathers, uncles, and to all the men who deserve the title today. You may not be told enough, but KIDS NEED YOU.

I read an article last week that said that some fathers feel like Father's Day is sort of sloppy seconds to Mother's Day. An afterthought, if you will.

I can see how some men might think that, since according to much of our country's popular entertainment, most fathers, when they are present at all, are portrayed as overfed dolts, completely unaware of the people they have helped to create.

That's not how it is here at The HomeFront. Dad is THE MAN, with all that entails.

He is the family arbiter, the breadwinner, the negotiator, the enforcer, the fixer. I have lost count of how many times I have said, "Wait until your father gets home and then we'll figure it out."

I don't think of myself as the helpless woman waiting for my husband to come and tell me what to do; I have done a lot of parenting by myself, thanks to Rob's job and his military service, but boy am I happy when he's with us.

I'm so glad my children have Rob as a father. We are blessed to have him.




An Interview with Francie and Fiver


1. What is something Dad always says to you?

Fiver: What do you want for breakfast?

Francie: Practice piano!

(Both very true statements.)

2. What makes Dad happy?

Fiver: When I clean the basement.

Francie: A quiet evening watching football.

(He'd be ecstatic if they were cleaning the basement WHILE he was enjoying a quiet evening watching the Giants.)

3. What makes Dad sad?

Fiver: When I don't do what he asks.

Francie: Working late or iTunes stuff not working.

(Apparently he is a wee bit attached to the iPod.)


4. How does Dad make you laugh?

Fiver: Watching a funny movie with me

Francie: When he tickles me or turns me upside down.

(It's getting harder and harder to turn her upside down. All you get is a face full of legs.)


5. What was Dad like as a child?

Fiver: Like me. And he played with Legos.

Francie: A lot shorter.


6. How old is Dad?

Fiver: 37

Francie: 37

(I was amazed that they both knew Rob's exact age, but then they burst my bubble by admitting that they had just talked about it with Rob yesterday.)


7. How tall is Dad?

Fiver: pretty big

Francie: 6' 4" last time I checked.

(Is she expecting him to have a growth spurt?)


8. What's Dad's favorite thing to do?

Fiver: washing the dishes

Francie: watching sports on television

(Washing dishes?! And here I've been depriving him of that singular joy all these years.)



9. What does Dad do when you're not around?

Fiver: He plays with the babies.

Francie: He works.

(I love that Fiver still calls Sally a baby, even though she is not that much shorter than him.)


10. If Dad becomes famous, what will it be for?

Fiver: Being a firefighter

Francie: Finding a cure for rabies or something bad like that.

(I guess he'll have to go with firefighter, since they already found a cure for rabies.)


11. What is Dad really good at?

Fiver: Playing mini-golf

Francie: Doing all his doctor stuff

(He IS good at both. And the way my kids play mini-golf, sometimes he gets to do both at the same time!)



12. What is Dad not very good at?

Fiver: He's actually good at everything.

Francie: Playing the xylophone.


13. What does Dad do for his job?

Fiver: He's a doctor and he goes to the hospital.

Francie: He's a doctor and he does paperwork and goes to conferences. Oh, and he delivers babies.

(It's scary the amount of paperwork that Rob has to do. I'm not surprised that Francie thinks his job is mostly clerical.)


14. What is Dad's favorite food?

Fiver: Steak on the grill.

Francie: Steak!

(He is indeed a carnivore.)


15. What makes you proud of Dad?

Fiver: Because he's here with me.

Francie: He helps a lot of people.


16. If Dad was a cartoon character, who would he be?

Fiver: He'd be someone from The Little Mermaid.

Francie: He'd be a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle. He'd be Donatello because he's the brains of the operation.

(TMNT I can see, but The Little Mermaid? I don't even think Fiver has SEEN that movie!)


17. What do you and Dad do together?

Fiver: We go to the zoo.

Francie: We play mini-golf, go to the art museum, and eat ice cream.

(Can you tell that we like the mini-golf?)


18. How are you and Dad the same?

Fiver: We're both boys.

Francie: We're both tall.


19. How are you and Dad different?

Fiver: We don't do the same things.

Francie: Ummm . . . he actually has a little bald spot.


20. How do you know Dad loves you?

Fiver: He takes care of me.

Francie: He snuggles me.


21. Where is Dad's favorite place to go?

Fiver: To the beach.

Francie: To the bookstore.

(Rob does like the beach, but he LOVES the bookstore.)



Happy Father's Day, my friends!

*** PS: Father's Day Trivia: From what movie did I lift the title of this post?

6 comments:

  1. Anonymous12:46 PM

    Happy Father's Day Rob! I believe the quote is from it's a wonderful life
    Marguerite

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  2. this interview idea is soooo cute! I think I'm going to do it for our own "Papa" and print it out as a gift.

    Happy Father's Day to Rob!

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  3. Next time Rob works late you should save the dishes for him to cheer him up! Since he likes doing them so much! haha :)

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  4. Too cute! I love how children answer questions like those! It is fun to get inside their heads! Hope you had a blessed Father's Day!

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  5. Enjoyed reading your blog tonight.....I love finding new blogs...Had a little time to blog hop tonight while waiting to go to the hospital and welcome a new grandson tomorrow. This month I am posting about our Disney trip, plus a great giveaway.

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  6. SO true! We know how important Daddies are!

    I did the interview with my kids a few months ago. The answers were hilarious.

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