The Jokester

In honor of Father’s Day, today’s post is not about my hubby – who’s not yet a father.. (unless, you count being a Daddy to our adorable dog).  AND, just for the record mother-in-law (since I know you’re reading) the yet, is a loose yet, a very loose yet with no defined certainty or timeline.  Ok, now that we’ve cleared that up, back to my story.  Today’s post is about someone else’s hubby.  More specifically, my mom’s hubby.. who would also better be known as MY dad.

 

My dad’s an interesting character.  If I had to describe him I’d say he’s somewhat reserved, quiet, contemplative & introspective.  He’s incredibly good with his hands and can literally fix anything or build anything from scratch.  He’s a smart man who has a very methodical mind.  He’s always working on some sort of “project” and yet his actual “to–do” list never seems to get shorter. He can be a fantastic procrastinator but he’ll also drop whatever he’s doing if we call him about a problem we’re having at our house (much to the dismay of my mother who often says to him “how come you’re running over there to work on their projects when you never finish anything here???”

 

He is also a man of many, many quirks.  Here’s just a glimpse of some of my dad’s unique qualities:

• If you cut him a slice of cake it must always be laid down the “right” way (so that the top frosting isn’t situated on the inside of the fork when you eat it from the side).

The "right" way

The "wrong" way

 
  

• He has “good” clothes that are only to be worn on special occasions.  Now, while this seems perfectly normal, please understand that the item of clothing could be a new pair of sneakers that are “too good” to wear to Home Depot.  (yeah, I don’t get it either…………)
• He always, always wears jeans… no matter how hot it is out, I think I’ve seen my dad in shorts (or a bathing suit) about 10 times in my life.
• Even though my parents have had a pool almost my entire life, my dad never goes in it.
• He can get sunburned, in a parka, under an umbrella, wrapped in a towel

 

But perhaps one of my favorite dad quirks is his goofiness.  I have to say that I have acquired a good balance of traits from both of my parents.  I got most of my OCD qualities from my mother (like my obsessive need to re-organize everything that everyone else puts into our dishwasher) and I got all of my silliness from my dad!

 
I’ve been known to quote endless “Dadism’s”.  And, every time, I’m starting to get a little goofy.. my dear hubby says to me… “ok, Bill” (my dad’s name).

 

Part of his silliness translates to dopey jokes and statements.  You know the ones (especially if you have a Dad similar to mine) that you hear over and over all your life.  The ones that, in the middle of a certain situation, you know are about to come out of his mouth.  You’ve heard it many times, you know the tone, and the punch line and you also know that he’s gonna crack himself up as soon as it comes out of his mouth.  And, it’s so dopey that even as you are rolling your eyes,  your family is all saying it at the same exact time…. and you’re all smiling a dopey grin at dad’s dopey joke.

 

Well I got an early morning dose of my dad on Father’s Day that started my day with a chuckle.

 

In order to share this story, I need to back up a bit.

 

Hubby & I decided to invite both of our families to our house for a Father’s Day bbq.  We have a big pool and it was supposed to be great weather which makes it the perfect setting for a family get together.    So, I get a call from my parents asking what time to come over.  And I tell them we’ll be outside at the pool all day and they should just come over whenever they want to.  So my dad, in true dad fashion says…. “well then, I’d like to come over at 8:00am” (he knows hubby & I are not morning people).  So, I say to him  – remember what I said earlier about shorts & swimming pools – “Dad, I’ll tell you what… if you come over in a bathing suit and spend the entire day in the pool with me, I’ll meet you out back at 8:00am”.  To which he replies “ok, deal!”. 

 

Now, if you knew my father, you wouldn’t have believed him… BUT, he’s also not one to pass up a challenge or the opportunity to make something into a joke.

 

Fast forward to Sunday, hubby & I sleep-in as we normally do.  When we wake up and look out the window, there’s a raft floating around our pool with a dopey little umbrella attached to it.  Apparently my father, who knew we’d still be sleeping, came to our house and supposedly (cause we still have no actual proof) floated around our pool at 7:20am.

 

So, when I called him up and inquired about the raft, he told me that he waited for me for about 15 minutes and when I didn’t show up, he gave up and went home.  To which I replied… .”well, I got up at 8:00am to come out to meet you and you weren’t here” (2 can play this game…..).  So, of course he says “well I was there… around 7:15.  And, I say “yes, but we agreed on 8:00am, and it’s not my fault if you can’t tell time….”  Typical father-daughter comedic banter ensues….neither one of us willing to give an inch.  And each of us, declares our self the winner!

 

What can I say…. I’m my father’s daughter.  And, the only person he can blame for my annoying qualities is himself.  Much like my hubby & Awfulizer Sr!! As they say, the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree!

 

And, in what may well be a date to go down in history, when my dad returned for our bbq (at a normal time of day), he wore his bathing and actually did float around on his raft with his silly little umbrella!!!  (notice the pastey white skin — he’s probably burned to a crisp today, and complaining to my poor mother!)

 

Anyhow, we had a great day with the family and hopefully both our father’s enjoyed Father’s Day.

 

Happy Father’s Day Dad!  Love you!