My dad is a hard ass ex-Marine....he can be extremely difficult to get along with. But some of my BEST memories of him are Sunday afternoons in the Spring, Summer, and Fall.
From the time I was four years old, until I was twelve and half we lived in the metropolitan area around Washington DC. My Dad worked for the Federal Government in Personnel and he worked his way up the GS ladder, moving from job to job and base to base. Some of those commutes were long...some were shorter. I actually remember a time when I was five or six, telling my Mom while my brother and sisters and I ate dinner, "I miss Daddy, when are we going to see him again." We ate dinner and went to bed before my Dad got home and he left before we woke up in the morning....so I didn't get to see him much at the time. I guess my Mom told my Dad because just a few days later he took a few days of Annual Leave to spend some time with us. (For those of you who don't know, Annual Leave is something you earn every pay period for the Government, you go from 4 to 8 hours a pay period depending on how long you have been a Government employee and you can pretty much take it anytime you want....it's vacation time.)
Anyway, most Sunday afternoons, I can remember my Dad coming into the family room, and telling all five of us, "Let's go get lost." At the time, that meant that all five of the children would pile into the stationwagon with my Dad and go "Who knows where." Of course in the metro DC area there were a TON of places to go! I'm sure my Dad had a place in mind each and everytime, but he never told us where we were going....so to us, we just kind of ended up someplace really cool. Now let me explain places that are "really cool" to an eight to twelve old (that was me.) Sometimes we would go to a playground, sometimes we would run around Laffayette Park, or we would end up at the Iwojima Memorial (my uncle was there the day they raised that flag....something we heard EVERY time,) sometimes we went to the Washington Memorial, or we raced around the Reflecting Pool after visiting the Lincoln Memorial and racing to the Jefferson Memorial. Then there were times when we just ended up at the campus of the University of Maryland with buckets in hand...and we collected hundreds and hundreds of acorns....Why, I don't know, but it was way cool at the time.....I wonder what he did with that car trunk full of acorns?
I never actually heard my Mom tell my Dad to "Get lost." But years later, when I became a Mom, I finally figured it out. Even though I never heard the conversation, I'm pretty sure it went like this.....Dad..."So what do you want to do this afternoon?" Mom......"Why don't you take the kids and just GET LOST." I can't blame my Mom....she had five kids and I am the oldest, we are pretty much stairstepped, except the youngest who was a surprise...I was nine when he came along.
Today is Sunday afternoon.....my husband has helped our 27 year old move some heavy stuff this morning, cleaned horse stalls and done several other things.....he is tired and sore.....but when his kids asked him to take them to the park this afternoon....he did! My husband is an amazing man and an amazing Dad....when summer vacation rolls around I will try to do something to "Get Lost" every once in a while....this way the kids will be tired in the evening and I can enjoy a peaceful night.
But I am going to suggest something for every Dad or even Mom out there right now......take your kids somewhere, just GET LOST....it doesn't have to cost money, a park, a memorial where they might learn something, a University Campus to romp in the open spaces....just a place to run around.....it's worth it.....and they will remember it when they are 50!
Have a GREAT DAY!
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