Monday June 16, 2003 at 11:17 PM
A Father's Day With Bugs
Appearing in Domestic Bliss
Father’s Day strikes me as a rather oxymoronic holiday given that the celebration typically involves giving Dear Old Dad a day off from the kids. In the four years I’ve been a father, I’ve always spent the day with my children and this year was no exception. Unlike previous Father’s Days however, this one found me determined to suspend my adult agenda in favor of something more appropriate to those with a greater interest in finger painting, fairy tales, and Lincoln Logs than politics, economics, or higher-level mathematics.
The highlight of the day came during a morning outing to a local park. Although I had mentally apportioned two hours, after 60 minutes my patience began to wane. In a mostly self-serving move, the kids were coaxed to a nearby field for a brief game of tag where, after a good bit of chaotic running around, we pooped out and plopped down.
As we sat there in the grass, the sun in our faces and the bees buzzing our legs, I was somehow able to let go of my adult preoccupations. In the same way that the kids stopped fretting about the bees, I momentarily stopped my own worrying and was able to just be there with the flowers, the sunshine, my children, and the moment.
The next hour found us digging in an ivy bed in search of pill bugs, spider webs, and yellow lady bugs — all of which were found in abundance. In our excitement, the place was somehow transformed into a private entomological safari: more entertaining than a movie and more wild than a zoo.
When asked a few days ago what I wanted to do for Father’s Day I couldn’t really think of anything, quietly relegating the question to the realm of the imponderables along with “why are we here?” and “what do you want for your birthday?” I could’ve hardly imagined that the perfect Father’s Day would be spent digging in an ivy bed, watching bees, and just being a kid.
