I was just reminded that it is Father’s Day.
I was chatting with my neighbor and he noticed something new in my yard and I said I had gotten it for my birthday on Friday. His ears perked up and he asked if I like molasses cookies. (who doesn’t?) He said he had asked for molasses cookies for Father’s Day and he would send his daughter over later with warm cookies for me.
So, Happy Father’s Day to all you Dads out there, and to anyone out there for whom “Dad” is a happy thing.
For me it’s bittersweet, I lost my Dad 30 years ago. I was daddy’s girl, and that never goes away, even when they are gone.
Baud
Dapper!
MagdaInBlack
Are molasses cookies the ones you roll the dough balls in sugar and they spread out when they bake and become nice and crinkly on top and chewy on the inside?
If so I love them, and so did my dad. If not, I love whatever those are and so did my dad.
WereBear
I do like a man in a hat.
You know. a real hat.
WereBear
@MagdaInBlack: Yes, the crackly tops are an ID.
WaterGirl
@Baud: We thought my dad was dapper like Cary Grant. :-)
WaterGirl
@MagdaInBlack: That’s what I thought they would be.
These are shaped more like fluffy ginger snaps, slightly bigger than the circle I get with my thumb and forefinger, not chewy at all, and without the spicy ginger.
But all homemade cookies are good! And they were warm from the oven when they arrived just now.
So I’m going with 5 stars.
WaterGirl
@MagdaInBlack:
Exactly!
Raoul Paste
A choice between chocolate chip vs molasses cookies would be difficult
Suzanne
@WaterGirl: Surprise cookies that you don’t have to bake?! FANTASTIC.
eclare
What a great photo.
Scout211
We had a Father’s Day celebration for my husband with 2/3 of our kids and grandkids.
It was really special that the twenty-something grandkids (and one fiancé) came to celebrate. They typically are so busy with their lives that we don’t see them very often anymore. I was really happy that they all came for my husband but it was bittersweet because he didn’t recognize them. 😢
MagdaInBlack
@WaterGirl: All wins in my book =-)
WaterGirl
@Scout211: Oh, sweet that they came, but that is so hard. I’m so sorry, Scout.
zhena gogolia
@Scout211: Very tough. Maybe he had some sense of it as a joyful occasion.
Soprano2
@Scout211: Ugh I am so sorry, I haven’t had to deal with that yet. I dread it.
I lost my father over 40 years ago, in 1982. I barely think about Father’s Day anymore. I did wish hubby a happy Father’s Day, because his daughter certainly won’t.
Mousebumples
Off topic –
Don’t know him, but I’m about to start researching… Stay tuned.
We did Father’s Day dinner last night with Mr. Mouse’s family. We’re doing an extended Door County trip with my family next weekend, though I did text my dad today.
Also, WaterGirl, if you need a Medium Cool topic for tonight, I saw a QT going around bsky earlier to reskeet with a fave TV (or could be more general for our purposes) dad.
Happy father’s day to all dads, including those that might be women or non-binary. And bless the memories of those great fathers who are no longer with us.
pieceofpeace
Happy Birthday, WaterGirl! May you enjoy, learn and seek at least one new adventure this year.
You’re a treasure here….
RevRick
Today’s Hebrew text was from Proverbs 8:1-4, 22-31 and was about wisdom, which is personified as female, and in the Greek is translated as Sophia. The Hebrew word means applied knowledge or skill. The first eight chapters of Proverbs are a collection of pithy ideas that a father passes down to his son as instruction for right living. The second part of the text locates wisdom at the beginning of Creation “then I was beside him, like a master worker, and I was his daily delight…”
Wisdom is often identified with the Holy Spirit in Christian faith.
Mousebumples
I suppose I forgot to share what we are doing tonight. I’m making dinner – an adaptation of an old Blue Apron meal. Beets, Swiss chard, pasta, chicken, and some goat cheese on top.
Happy to transcribe an approximation of the recipe if anyone would like.
Emily B.
@WaterGirl: I know what you mean about this day being bittersweet.
Having had that strong bond with your dad sets you up for life, as it were, but it also means you never stop missing him.
What a wonderful photo!
Mousebumples
@Mousebumples: I missed this, but apparently Devin had Wikler’s endorsement.
https://www.benwikler.com/p/endorsement-vote-devin-remiker-for
There’s 10 reasons, but that all sounds good to me.
Let’s go, WisDems!
Tehanu
Thanks for reminding me of my own Daddy, who’s been gone 11 years now. I’m so grateful that I had his love and support for my whole life.
raven
Here’s me and my old man in 96 after being on the Sweet Jody fishing boat.
I had the idea that someone who spent four years in the Pacific on a Tin Can would enjoy being on a boat. Boy dod I miss the boat on that, he hated it!
zhena gogolia
@raven: Sweet picture.
Doug R
Bluesky post on my dad-includes picture:
https://bsky.app/profile/did:plc:zof37bt63a6ixlzutrxgngob/post/3lrod3bmrs222
narya
My dad died about 15 months ago, so this is my second Father’s Day w/o him. I adored my dad, and I know the reverse was also true, but I also know that the last time I felt like he was fully present was December of 2022. He remained mostly there mentally until he died, but he also kind of checked out; he was oriented to people, places, time, etc., but he didn’t really start conversations. Thus, the conversation I had with him in 2022 really sticks with me: he was talking about his experience after my sister died, and I am fairly certain he hadn’t shared any of that with anyone, including my mom. (Mom had fallen asleep in her chair in front of the TV in the other room, so didn’t overhear the conversation.) I don’t even remember how it came up, but part of me feels that he wanted to say that stuff before he died. Most important, though, he was a good person, and the older I get, and the more horror stories I hear, the luckier I feel about having him and my mom as parents. Here’s to you, Dad; I’ll have a beer in your honor today.
raven
@zhena gogolia: thanks!
WaterGirl
@Mousebumples:
Funny! I already put the Medium Cool post together, and it’s not that far off from that.
Sneak preview:
WaterGirl
@raven:
oops!
WaterGirl
@Mousebumples: That’s reassuring!
WaterGirl
@Emily B.: I appreciate that you understand1
And this is going to sound dumb, but I was happy to see the old curtains in the picture. I didn’t even know that I missed them!
WaterGirl
@pieceofpeace: That’s so kind of you to say. thank you.
WaterGirl
@zhena gogolia: That’s a nice thought.
sab
This is my first year without Dad, but he always hated holidays, so it’s not so bad, and I get to see the stepkids as they actually celebrate with their father. In prior years I was often with Dad, studiously not celebrating. He was a sweet, kind man but also a very odd duck.
He had dementia, but he always recognized me, even on days when he was out of sorts and pretended not to.
ETA I agree with narya. The more stories I hear about other peoples parents the more grateful I am for the wonderful ones that I had.
They Call Me Noni
@Scout211: But they will always remember that they were there and you will remember that he was important enough to them to be there. It is all love.
Nukular Biskits
WG, this prompted me to post about Daddy on my Bluesky.
Interestingly, my brother worked a service call at the funeral home at the memorial garden where Daddy is buried. My brother texted me and sis with a photo of the tombstone and this:
Family joke – Daddy drank Michelob until the day he died. At work.
They said he was sitting at the counter at Southern Pipe and Supply dealing with plumbing customers, fell off the stool, got back up and sat back down. When he was asked, “Jimmy, you okay?”, he replied, “Hell, yeah!”, fell off and was dead.
And that’s how he wanted to shuffle off this mortal coil.
They Call Me Noni
I lost my dad just a bit over 54 years ago so I have very few memories of him, but I do think of and miss him. I wonder if he would have actually liked me as an adult or if I would have liked him. I like to think we would have been close as my Mom used to tell me that I was definitely a Daddy’s girl. I was, however, very fortunate to have a wonderful and caring step-father so I am forever thankful for him. However, he passed many, many years ago. My poor Mom was widowed twice before the age of 45. I cannot imagine.
They Call Me Noni
@Mousebumples: I definitely would like that recipe! Please and thank you muchly.
They Call Me Noni
Happy Birthday Water Girl! May all your weeds be wildflowers.
RevRick
@Nukular Biskits: Your dad died suddenly; mine took an 18-year downward spiral from diabetes.
My childhood memory of my dad was that he was massive. He wore size 13 D shoes and his pinky finger was as big around as my thumb. But as I moved towards being a teenager, he just sort of disappeared, retreating into the basement in the evenings to putter around with various pastimes. He once home built a TV for us, but forgot to ever add a cabinet, so we watched shows… and all the glowing vacuum tubes. Then he was into a CB radio kick for a while. And he bought a row boat that he never finished restoring.
My uncle once remarked to me that my dad, his older brother, never really found himself. He was an intelligent man, having skipped a grade in elementary school, but never really settled into a career. Looking back, he was very much an introvert and probably suffered undiagnosed depression. The latter manifested itself in his obesity and cigarette smoking. And it all came crashing down when he got diagnosed with diabetes at aged 62, when he had a hip replacement and the wound took two + months to heal. At the same time, the company he worked for went bankrupt, so he was forced into early retirement. From then on his life (and mom’s) got smaller and he got frailer, racking up $1 million worth of hospitalizations and treatments through Medicare, eventually having his one leg amputated below the knee. He died in 2001.
His hermit like existence goaded me into joining Classmates.com and reconnecting with some old high school classmates. One was a woman who had worked in the Menninger Institute and since she developed MS she had created a 30-minute video on how to live with chronic illness. She asked me if I would like a copy, I said sure.
I shared it with about 20 people in my church, we talked about it, and I invited them to gather for a weekly discussion about their struggles and what they learned.
Out of that group, we learned about the challenges a young couple faced, since she had lupus. So, the following year our church held a fundraiser for them, raised $8400, and the organizers decided that it was such a rewarding experience that they wanted to do it again. Long story short, over the next 20 years that church helped 61 local families struggling financially due to medical conditions, raising $1 million for them.
Oh, and that young couple who inspired all this? They hadn’t been members, but one day, when my secretary routinely called the hospitals to inquire about admissions (preHIPAA), his name came up. I had no idea who he was, but decided to visit that afternoon and the couple so appreciated my pastoral care that they started attending and joined, and later so did his parents.
I ascribe all this to the Holy Spirit.
Mousebumples
@They Call Me Noni: I’m not sure if you (or anyone) is still watching this thread, but I’ll see if she can pass it along to you, via email. Cheers!
They Call Me Noni
@Mousebumples: Thank you. I will keep an eye out for it in my e-mail.
Timill
@Mousebumples: Ain’t nobody here but just us chickens…
WaterGirl
@They Call Me Noni: Love that, thank you!