Role Model

My father Robert would have turned 79 years old today.  Life has been completely different for me these last 13 months.

This photo is probably my all-time favorite of my dad and I.  On this particular day in March of 2005, me, my brother-in-law Ira and my dad made a journey to Dodgertown in Vero Beach to watch a spring training game.  The tree over my left shoulder gave us shade the entire game, and we liked it so much, my dad had no problem joining us for trips in 2006, 2007 and 2008 (the final year Dodgertown was open before the team abandoned Florida for Arizona).

That's the kind of person my dad was.  If I was interested in something, he became interested in it, too.

He was always a Dunkin' Donuts fan even before I started working with them from a PR standpoint - once I did that, he always made it a point to call me and tell me when he was visiting one for a cup of coffee.

He sat through two heartbreaking FSU losses to Miami in 2000 and 2002 in the upper deck despite being afraid of heights. 

He originally began listening to Meat Loaf and Queen because I liked both groups.

He began using the internet in 2000 while I was still in Tallahassee so he could email me, watch music videos on YouTube and get sports news from ESPN, long past the average age of people who use computers.

He even let me explain Twitter to him, and understood it enough that when I showed him I was quoted in a Sarah Talalay article eight days before he died, he laughed (because the quote was about his short height) and told me he was proud of me.

I miss him the most in the mornings on the way to work - I used to call him religious at 8am to talk about sports, life and whatever else was on his mind or mine.

In short, my dad was my role model and I always try to do everything for my children that he did for me.  I'm happy that my son had a great relationship with him and that he got to spend one year getting to play with my daughter.

Happy Birthday, Daddy. Enjoy the donut!

Proud Papa

Today was my father's unveiling.  It was nice to see so many friends and relatives come out and make it a point even 13 months after his funeral to be part of this solemn occasion.

Sometimes there's things your children do that you will remember for a day or two but quickly forget due to other great memories.

My son did something at the unveiling that 20 years from now I'll remember and still be as proud of him then as I was of him at the ceremony.

When my mother asked if anyone wanted to say any words about my dad AKA Robert AKA Bobby AKA Bob AKA Grandpa, my son raised his hand and walked over to the shiny new headstone which showed my dad was a beloved Son, Father, Grandfather and friend to all.

My son looked down at the headstone and said he misses his grandpa and he will always think of him whenever he watches a New York Jets game.

Then, he did the thing I'll never forget.

He sang Take Me Out To The Ball Game, and even as a six-year-old, not only did he get all of the lyrics right, he changed up home team to "Tigers", my dad's favorite baseball team.

When he concluded, the people that were there with us clapped while I welled up with pride.  Thought my son only knew my dad for five years, they were a great five years.  My son lost his grandpa at the exact same age I lost my grandpa (my dad's father).  The difference is, while I wasn't close to my dad's father, my son enjoyed hanging out with my dad.

When we left the cemetery and got into my wife's car, I told my son how proud I was of him.  He smiled and asked me if I could hand him his Nintendo DSI.

Kids!

A Walk In The Park

After running into an old friend today at a birthday party and telling her she should start her own blog because she has such a diverse background and so much to share with others, I thought to myself, "Why not me? Why not now?"

As I shape the direction I want this to take, I'm sure it will eventually take on one general theme. So forgive me if my initial thoughts seem to be held together by glue rather than cohesive thoughts.

When did my son get so big? I stumbled across the attached profile picture of him and I walking through a park in Parkland, Florida when he wasn't even two years old yet. He's getting so big so fast, and yet, he's still my little boy. He's been a great big brother to his sister, who hasn't gotten any teeth yet, let alone started fully crawling.

He's something else, that kid. I managed to lock myself out of the house the other morning with him AND my daughter inside (as we were getting ready to leave for daycare). After my life flashed before my eyes, I began frantically knocking on the door. No answer. I knocked louder. No answer. I knocked even louder. Then I heard a voice, "Daddy?" I pleaded with my son to let me in.

Naturally, he turned the bolt the wrong way and I somehow managed not to panic. I encouraged him to turn the bolt back the other way and then turn the door knob (which always opens from the inside). Sure enough, he did it, and I gave him a huge hug and told him how proud I was of him. He then said to me, "Daddy, I thought you were a stranger." That my four year old knew not to let me in without checking thoroughly first really made me feel good as a parent, and also made me realize that perhaps my wife and I are doing something right.

It's moments like these that make me treasure every walk in the park I've ever taken with him, and makes me appreciate how lucky I am to have two happy, healthy kids and a wife who is my soulmate.

Now if I could just get him to share the computer with me a little more - those darn Webkinz!