Sunday, March 9, 2014

My Two Dads

Oh, you mean you only have one?


Dads - they're there through thick and thin.  They teach you how to ride your bike, how to tie your shoes, how to eat sunflower seeds.  Dads stay up late to help with science fair projects and to drive you home after a party.  He's the one telling you to go get 'em at the next sports event and whipping out that hideous, worn, outdated, pocket sized school photo from his wallet.  His scruffy cheeks are the ones you're kissing when he brings home some chocolate or some flowers one day after work, or just because you catch his flashing eyes when you laugh at a flirty boy's text.  He's the guy joking about how many shotguns he has lined up for the first boy crazy enough to take you out on a date, but wait is he serious?  Because Dad, you can't expect me to be alone for like, ever, that's like, cruel and unusual punishment or something :)  I dunno about all of you, but this is my dad.  

Enter Bob, the well meaning and deep scientist man with wrinkles radiating from the corner of his eyes that suddenly make sense when he smiles.  He has a heavy heart weighed down from too many chick flicks, but oh how it soars with Julia Robert's radiant smile as she walks in the book store to win back Hugh Grant in Notting Hill.  He has the laugh of a boy who never grew up and a sense of humor I have spent 16 years trying to understand.  Bob is not a simple man, don't be fooled by the name, he's lived a life revolving around his family.  He has a top notch education and a job that at least sounds cool to people since they combine the words "Pentagon" and "nuclear".  My father is a serious man.  Sometimes it's hard to coax a smile out of him, but that's when you know he needs a hug.  His voice brings warm memories - it's the same one that has read me countless books as I snuggled into the crook of his arm.  Bob is a cool guy - he let me sit in the front seat of the car LONG before Mom ever did.  When she is out of town we get to eat those delicious frozen taquitos.  I remember the last time he picked my sleeping self up from the living room couch and carried me up the stairs.  As he struggled a bit getting me to my bed, I fell asleep with a little melancholy as I knew I was getting too big.  He walks quickly for a man with the world on his shoulders, but he's managed it marvelously for as long as he's been my hero.

Yes he's the one grounding me and making me come home at a reasonable time, but he's also the one that will surprisingly pull through with some sound life advice and the cheesiest Redbox rentals.  I love spending time with him, even if we haven't had much in common for the past six years or so.  There's no replacement for a dad in your life.  My dad makes up such a big part of me (well I guess technically 50%).  My love for reading and writing comes from him, as do most of my guilty pleasures (he's the nerdiest guy ever, some of it is bound to be inherited.)  Even though my mother's genes wash out most American features I may have, my mother's mom swears I have Bob's ears.  I guess as long as I don't have his hairline ;).  

During my year abroad I got to be a part of a whole new family with a whole new dad.  Enter Lars, a cheerful Norwegian with a tune whistling past his tongue for most of the day.  He has a long stride and I swear, the funniest run you will ever see in your life.  Lars is a bit like the sunshine in our house, he makes the atmosphere in the room so much more positive.  He's popular with everyone he meets.  I'm always going to remember him in his black apron with the big yellow star, cooking up delicious dinners that bring the whole family together.  He has an appreciation for the good music - The Beatles, Simon and Garfunkel, Frank Sinatra.  I guess you could say we bonded over The Sound of Silence :).  Like most Norwegians, he loves the outdoors and is always up for a walk or a hike or a ridiculously long roller skiing endeavor.  Roller skiing, it's a thing if you didn't already know and my host dad is all about that rolling.  There are lots of things he's good at - singing, skipping, smiling and dropping spiders on the way out of the house instead of killing them.  He enjoys his romantic comedies as well, you can tell because his laugh could wake the dead.  He has that in common with Bob!  I can't count on anyone more than Lars to brighten my day a bit with a compliment or a silly joke that he thinks is hilarious.  

I don't mean to brag, but I have two pretty fantastic dads.  But I'm sure your dad (singular) is alright too!







Doesn't this just scream Norwegian? 



1 comment:

  1. This was very beautiful and touching. My brother is pretty cool but to hear it from his teenage daughter seems like the best compliment that one could give. Glad everything is going well for you! miss you!
    Jeanna

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