I wasn’t sure if I could write a post about Father’s day. My dad passed away in August of 2002, after a long battle with an extremely rare form of cancer, and it’s been hard to think of a way to write a post about what (for me) is an extremely sad holiday.
But, honestly, he would want me to be happy. He was a big goofball, and truly delighted in teasing us girls (I have three sisters – yes, that’s right, he had 4 daughters!). He was constantly thinking up new ways to antagonize us – it was definitely his favorite activity. Here are a few of my fondest memories of his antics… enjoy!
#1: One night, my mom was lying in bed trying to sleep when she saw a flashing red light in her left eye. She sat up, and (since she is a nurse) started mentally running through the list of the things that could be physically wrong with her. Brain aneurism, detached retina, stroke. Brushing off the red light as a figment of her imagination, she laid back down.
A few seconds later, she saw the light again & sat up, more worried this time. She wondered if an ambulance was going by, but – no, that would cause the light in both eyes. She considered the brain aneurism possibility again, and started to get a little more worried. After a few moments, she laid down again.
Then, almost instantly she saw the flashing red light again! But this time, she noticed that my dad shifted his arm directly afterword. “PAUL!” she shouted “WHAT are you DOING?” He started to laugh as he handed her the culprit… He had gotten one of those light-up beer pins that you see bartenders wearing and he was holding it in front of her face when she had her eyes closed. Typical Dad.
#2: Scene: I walk in the door after school & see my dad sitting on the sofa, pouting.
Me: “Hey, Dad, what’s up?”
Dad: “You shouldn’t talk to me, I’m in trouble.”
Me: “Uh, Okay.”
I walk upstairs to see what’s going on
Me: “Mom, what did Dad do? He said he’s in trouble.”
Mom: “Oh for the love… He is in trouble! I was in the shower, and when I got out, I walked over to the bed and he had been hiding under the bed and grabbed my ankles to scare me! He about scared me to death!”
Once again, Typical Dad! Hiding and scaring us girls was one of his favorite tricks. I swear- it seemed like he must have been waiting for hours sometimes!
#3: How can I pick just one memory for the #3 spot?! Let’s see, for one thing, he loved to pull the hair off a hairbrush and then hold it up to his armpit and act like it was his armpit hair. That was a classic.
One time, he found an old Troll mask (from a discarded Halloween costume) and put it on the floor. Then, he laid out an outfit and shoes & even used pantyhose to mimic arms and legs. Once he showed us all his “creation,” he picked up the clothes and said, “oh nooo, she’s Naaaked!!!”
Then there was the time that I was on the main floor of the house when I heard Thump… Thump… Thump. I wandered upstairs to see what was going on & my dad told me that my mom had bet him that he couldn’t jump high enough to hit his head on the ceiling. Watching my 5’8” father attempt this was pretty darn funny.
Oh Dad, what a jokester. I really do miss him, and hope that my stories and memories of him will someday help my kids to understand what a fun guy he was.
Of course, maybe I should just reenact some of his favorite pranks – that way they’ll get the full experience. Hopefully, they’ll be smarter than I was… One morning after my dad’s daily… erm… newspaper time, I even fell for the, “Becky, I left a present for you in the bathroom!” trick.
That’s one mistake you don’t make twice.
