Monday, June 10, 2013

My Dad, My Hero


By Evelyn David
 
Fatherhood is pretending the present you love most is soap-on-a-rope.

I've always adored that quote from Bill Cosby. Over the years I gave my father enough soap-on-a-rope to cleanse half the city of Baltimore. And every single year, bless him, he acted like I had given him the winning ticket to the Florida Powerball.

It's Father's Day on Sunday. But of course, we don't need a Hallmark holiday to celebrate the Dads in our lives. Both halves of Evelyn David have been blessed with exceptional fathers. They were men who adored us, encouraged us, taught us, supported us, cheered for us, laughed with us, comforted us, and made us feel like our dreams were always within reach. I married a man like my father and feel like the best gift I ever gave my kids was to give them the best Dad in the world.

A DNA-connection is the least of the components of being a good parent. It's someone willing to put in the hard, often messy, work of raising kids to be responsible, caring, loving individuals. My Dad traveled for his job, gone probably three weeks of every month, leaving on Monday morning, arriving home late Friday night. Yet, I don’t remember him being gone, his presence in my life so very strong. What I remember are the weekly trips to the library (no surprise, he loved mysteries!); the visits to the Baltimore Zoo (a bag of peanuts for the elephants, mostly eaten by us!); and the birthday cakes he ordered from Silber's Bakery each year (my mother organized the parties, he was responsible for the cakes!). I remember his "zingers" as he called them – fast quips that were smart, never hurtful, and made you laugh out loud. I remember that as a product of the Depression, he never spent money on himself, but when he came with Mom and me to pick out my wedding gown, he insisted that I buy the one I liked, even if it was the most expensive. He made a pact with my fiancé on my wedding day – that they were both on the same team, loving and supporting Marian. And when a short three years later, when unbelievably he died way too young, I knew that the love he gave me, unstintingly and without reservation, would be with me the rest of my life – as it has.

So to all the wonderful Dads out there – regardless of how you are connected to the children in your lives – we salute you, we thank you. And we know that Dads stay in our hearts forever.

Marian, the Northern half of Evelyn David

--------------------



$0.99 SALE! - Ending June 16
The Ghosts of Lottawatah – a boxed set of E-books of the first four in the Brianna Sullivan Mysteries series




Sullivan Investigations Mystery
Murder Off the Books Kindle - Nook - Smashwords - Trade Paperback
Murder Takes the Cake Kindle - Nook - Smashwords - Trade Paperback 
Murder Doubles Back Kindle - Nook - Smashwords - Trade Paperback
Riley Come Home (short story)- Kindle - Nook - Smashwords
Moonlighting at the Mall (short story) - Kindle - Nook - Smashwords
 





Brianna Sullivan Mysteries - e-book series
I Try Not to Drive Past Cemeteries- Kindle - Nook - Smashwords
The Dog Days of Summer in Lottawatah- Kindle - Nook - Smashwords
The Holiday Spirit(s) of Lottawatah- Kindle - Nook - Smashwords
Undying Love in Lottawatah- Kindle - Nook - Smashwords
A Haunting in Lottawatah - Kindle - Nook - Smashwords
Lottawatah Twister - Kindle - Nook - Smashwords
Missing in Lottawatah - Kindle - Nook - Smashwords
Good Grief in Lottawatah - Kindle - Nook - Smashwords
Summer Lightning in Lottawatah - Kindle - Nook - Smashwords

The Ghosts of Lottawatah - trade paperback collection of the Brianna e-books
Book 1 - I Try Not to Drive Past Cemeteries (includes the first four Brianna e-books)
Book 2 - A Haunting in Lottawatah (includes the 5th, 6th, and 7th Brianna e-books)

Zoned for Murder - stand-alone mystery
Romances
Love Lessons - Kindle - Nook - Smashwords

2 comments:

  1. Oh, Marian! What a moving tribute to your father!

    My kids are already preparing for Father's Day. When Ben and I got together, the oldest two were 16 and 17 and my youngest was 4. To my youngest, Ben has always been Dad, and over the years, he earned that position with the older two, as well. So I loved what you said about that. "A DNA-connection is the least of the components of being a good parent. It's someone willing to put in the hard, often messy, work of raising kids to be responsible, caring, loving individuals." Absolutely! Here's to all the Dads-by-choice out there, too.

    ReplyDelete
  2. What a beautiful post. Thank you for sharing. Maggie

    ReplyDelete

This is a comment awaiting moderation on the blog.