Father’s Day Walk, Big Bird In A Tower, And Appreciating The Little Things Everyday

I slept in till a little after 8 am on Father’s Day. I slept in till a little after 8 am on Saturday as well. It’s kind of out of character for me to sleep in that late. Usually 7:30 am is the latest I’ll sleep in before either the sun fills our bedroom with too much light, or my lower back says “Get up now.” But when neither of those things persuade me to rise like Jesus from his three day cave nap, I know I needed the sleep.

After I got up Sunday morning I brushed my teeth, put on some shorts, a hat, and my tennis shoes and took the dog out for his “poop walk”. Where as I don’t like to poop anywhere but my own bathroom, the dog loves pooping anywhere. And especially in strange grass and distant yards located away from his own personal toilet in our backyard. So the poop walks are for our elderly pooch to stretch his four old legs and to get the thrill of dropping loads here, there, and everywhere(and yes, I pick up his poop…unlike most of dog owners in our neighborhood.)

Once we returned and I gave him his post-workout(and poopout) treat and I headed back out to get my daily walk in. I knew it was going to be a hot one – and also that the air quality wasn’t for crap – so I wanted to get my workout in early. Even at 8:45 am it was still pretty warm in the sun, so when I found a shady area I relished the quick shots of cool air and no ultraviolet lasering me in the back of the neck.

I headed over to Hawthorn addition that morning and did my laps over there. I don’t go over there as much as I used to for some reason, so this morning was a return to my old walking grounds. Hawthorn is a new-ish housing addition that started getting developed in the late 2000s. It’s also located in the former corn field which sat directly across from my parents house, and where I grew up. Now it’s filled with mid-size three bedroom, two bath ranch-style homes. I was saddened when they first started developing that field as it was where I’d go to fly kites and get into general mischief growing up, but what opened up was a whole other neighborhood to take the kids trick-or-treating at Halloween. And it’s also become a great spot to get my walks in.

In an adjoining field one of the cell phone companies put up a cell tower. It seems amazingly out of place, having this behemoth and futuristic looking tower staring down on a cornfield, farmhouse, and rural living bliss. I’d heard that there was an Osprey nest in the tower so I walked over that way and sure enough there’s a nest at the top of the tower.

What’s striking is just how big the nest looks. Like, it seriously looks like Big Bird’s nest up there. I know Ospreys are very similar to the hawks we have around here, but I’m wondering if they’re a bigger bird. They’re a water bird as they nest close to lakes so they can grab fish for dinner, and sure enough the nest is only a half mile from Chapman Lake.

By the time I got home I’d been gone for an hour and twenty minutes and had accrued over five miles. It felt good but it was getting pretty warm.

I called my dad and told him Happy Father’s Day. I’d originally intended on buying him the Jim Hodges trilogy of books by Stephen King, but I forgot to order them in time. So my phone call will have to suffice until the books arrive.

My dad and I have gotten a lot closer over the last few years. He comes over nearly every Saturday morning and we have coffee. We talk about politics, family, books, movies, and my work. I’ll occasionally make him breakfast, too. He used to bring a box of Entenmann’s double chocolate donuts for the kids on a semi-regular basis. So much so that I think I heard my son say not that long ago, “Man, I miss when grandpa brought donuts over on Saturday mornings.”

I guess what I’m saying here is that Father’s Day isn’t any different than any other Sunday for me. I love and appreciate my dad all year round, and my kids the same for me. I don’t need a special day to be appreciated, or to appreciate my dad and all that he’s done for me. And he’s done a lot. Probably more than he’ll ever know.

So if you don’t appreciate your dad on the regular, then I guess try and do something for him on Father’s Day. Otherwise, keep appreciating your Pop throughout the year. And if your dad isn’t around anymore, my dad would be happy to have a cup of coffee with you. He might even bring some donuts.