Father's Day

As we recognize the fathers, grandfathers and other great guys in our lives, I decided that I should give Les his own tribute.  The obvious starting point in this tribute is age.  How many others guys his age do you know who are raising 9 and 12 year old kids?  There, I said it.  There's no hiding the fact that Les and I are older parents. And, let me tell you, being a "slightly older" parent (speaking for myself there) is a beautiful thing.  Shortly after Cassie was born, her pediatrician told me what a wonderful thing it was to be an older parent.  She explained that older parents are more secure financially and personally, and tend to be more able and willing to devote themselves to parenting.  When Cassie was a toddler, we were approached by strangers in a restaurant.  They told us that they had been watching us interact with her and admiring our patience and joy.  And, with no offense intended, they explained that clearly this was because we were older parents.  I remembered what the doctor had said and it all fell into place.  Yes, being older parents is great.  We don't sweat the piles of books on the steps, the ballet tights waiting to be washed, the messes in the craft room, or the grass waiting to be cut.  These things aren't really that important because we have two wonderful kids to love and enjoy.  So, a big "thank you" is going out to Les for sharing this experience with me.

Next on this list of tributes to Les has to be his patience with cell phones.  Now, Les is this technological genius at work.  But, he has yet to master the cell phone.   Last fall, Les took Cassie to the AT&T store and got her a smart phone.  Because we have a family plan, her number is linked to Les'.  The first day of school, Cassie came home thrilled with her ability to stay connected with her friends.  Les walked in the door grumbling, "What the hell?  I''m receiving all kinds of texts from people I don't know.  And, none of them make any sense.  What's an Instagram?  What on earth is an eos?   And, who's Miss Geeko?"

Recalling this event makes me laugh so hard that I'm crying.  Les was receiving all Cassie's text messages.  I suggested that maybe this was a good thing.  They disagreed and headed back to the AT&T store to straighten things out.

The only time that Cassie got in trouble for having a cell phone at school this year was when Les texted her during the day.  Yeah, remembering this still makes me laugh out loud!  Cassie was furious. 

A recent trip to the AT&T store resulted in an iphone5 for Les.  Of course, all his contacts had to be transferred from his old phone to his new.  Les was sitting on the couch, struggling to learn all the functions of this little technological beast when he yelled, "Hey, who are all these people on my contact list?  Ashley.... Claira.... Emily?"  (Do you see a pattern here?)    A few minutes later Les yelled again, "All my contacts are gone, including my alert roster from work.  CASSIE!!!" 

It turns out that Les' contact list somehow merged with Cassie's on both their phones.  She, of course, knew how to delete the unwanted ones and quickly did just that.  Les has now signed up for daily cell phone lessons from Cassie.  "Mom," she complained the other day, "I've had to show Daddy how to set his alarm the last three nights in a row!"

Third on the list of kudos for Les also relates to technology.  About a month ago, Les got hearing aids.  Now he can catch every little snippet of the girls' conversations.  It's somewhat revolutionary to have him being the one asking for the TV volume to be turned down!

Fourth on the list is again technology, in a round about way.  On Tuesdays we have a conflict - Lacey has ballet and Cassie has violin.  A parent has to sit through the violin lesson and take notes.  Apparently, this makes Les sleepy.  So, I handle the violin lesson and he takes Lacey to ballet.  Parents and extra siblings have to sit in a waiting room during the dance lessons.  Although there are multiple signs posted that ask parents to take command of their youngsters, most kids run laps around the waiting room screaming.  Les is probably the first parent in the history of the dance studio to get this situation under control.  He installed an app on his phone that plays a high-pitched tone that can only be heard by young children with perfect hearing.  Les punches away at that app until all the little kids are silent, trying to figure out what's causing the pain in their heads.  The other parents chat on, ignorant of it all.

Fifth on the list of praise is again related to technology - the Wii System.  Les really enjoys playing Wii with the girls.  He's willing to turn off the TV and rearrange furniture to accommodate playing.  But, somehow, every time that Lacey is ready to play Wii, all the handsets need to be charged!

Next on the list is the dollhouse.  For about a year now, Les has been building a dollhouse for the girls.  They selected a kit with thousands of tiny pieces.  The girls have selected wallpapers, furniture, accessories and even electric lighting.  Les patiently toils away, evening after evening, making the dollhouse a reality.  Now, if he was worrying about cutting the grass or cleaning up the piles of books on the stairs, he wouldn't have time for this!

The final item to be praised is Les' cooking.  When I met him, Les knew how to make pancakes, spaghetti and Veal Parmesan.  That's it.  Now, I'll gladly turn over meal preparation to him.  His recent feats have included crab cakes, grilled salmon with mustard sauce, marinated flap steak, and peach slices topped with vanilla sugar.

Happy Father's Day, Les!