Cliff has been looking for three of those yellow buckets that cat litter comes in for quite awhile. I figured it would be easy to find them, but my daughter asked people at her workplace, and said everybody is using the "fancy kinds" of cat litter now. I put a request on the Wellington community page on Facebook, and could have gotten one bucket, that's all. However, my husband happened to remember someone he's known for years who gave him some of those buckets in the past: One of my daughter's old boy friends.
He lives across the river now, but told Cliff he'd bring him some buckets. We rarely see him, so when he showed up, he stayed and visited for about two hours. I began to wonder if he was going to leave before dark, but around 6:30 he was gone. Gabe and I met Cliff halfway as he was coming to the house, and he said, "I'm going to be needing a Superman shirt."
"Huh?" I said.
Turns out this guy told Cliff that when he was in high school, he had always wished he had him as a dad, because his dad wasn't very nice... that's all I'll say about that.
But here's the thing: Everybody the age of my two children (in their mid-50s now) wants Cliff for a dad! And yes, my children are glad they had him for a dad, by the way. I think even my son-in-law wants him for a dad, although basically he already has him, ever since he married our daughter. Some of our nephews are in this Clifford-fan-group also.
So, where does that leave me?
Well, I am the mom who tried never to say anything bad about my husband in front of my children (or anyone else, really). I don't think I ever slammed him, although I got peeved at him at times; but I made sure they knew he was the sole breadwinner and we should appreciate him for that. If we bought things for him to take to work in his lunch box, the kids knew the rules, knew that he deserved it, and never even asked for those things.
I'm the reason both children left home at the age of 17 or 18, mostly because of some of my rules. But at least they have a Superman dad!
And I'm pretty proud of that. By the way, the kids do still claim me.
We all do the best we can at parenting. My daughters appreciate me more now that they're older and realize all the things I did. Even my rules!
ReplyDeleteReading your stories of how he bonded with the little one you babysat was all I needed to realize he was a great dad. Rebecca in SW MO
ReplyDeletecan't promise when but Bob says he will save the kitty litter buckets for your husband. Bob doesn't always get them since they are a little heavy for him
ReplyDeleteOh, our friend gave him enough to last a long time. Probably won't ever need any more of them.
Deletegreat... let me know if things change
DeleteIt's nice when an extra Dad figure can help a kid in life. Yep, they notice that the extra Dad is backed by a very patient wife. Linda in Kansas
ReplyDeleteI didn't mention it, but our grandson who lives next door and bought our place has Cliff for a father figure, too. He has a dad, but he lives a long way off.
DeleteI did the same with Larry. It helps the children fell special and it helps the father feel that way too. I never sassed my parents either.
ReplyDeleteI'm sorry to say that all I did was argue with my folks, especially my mother.
DeleteOne of my daughters is in a phase of blaming someone for any of the percieved wrongs she may have suffered. Oddly enough, her dad is immune and I bear all the blame. In retrospect, I also found it easy to forgive my dad long before I could forgive my mother. Her friends like me and I am sure that she loves me, but she does not like me!
ReplyDelete