happy father's day

I know there are some darn good dads out there, mixed in with the slackers and deadbeats. I've met quite a few, and so I have hope for the human race, because we women can't make things better all by ourselves. So here's to the good dad's. The ones who teach their kids about love and acceptance and kindness. I hope you have a really nice day.

I'm lucky to have two really great dads in my life. Rick, and my own dear Daddy. Yep, I still call him Daddy. Far as I know, that's his name. He taught me lots of things when I was growing up as the oldest of three daughters. In some ways, I also got to be the son. But that didn't turn out to be a bad thing at all. I learned all sorts of "guy" things that rounded me out as a person. Things like hunting and fishing and hiking and camping. OK... hunting and fishing didn't stick, but at least I have a distant respect for people who think those things are fun, and even more for the ones who do it for actual food. We're not all vegetarians, and I'm not sure we all should be. I sent my dad some lovely smoked salmon for Father's Day. These days, fishing is as easy as a few clicks on the internet.

Another big thing I got from my dad is my super human work ethic. He worked as a sprinkler fitter for over 30 years. Hard union work that I'm pretty sure he never liked. But it paid well, and supported his family. I don't think I ever heard him complain about it when we were growing up, but he doesn't mind telling me now that it really kind of stunk sometimes. My sisters and I are all hard workers too. Not a pampered princess in the bunch, although we'd all like to be to some extent. But when it comes down to it, there's a lot more value in knowing how to take care of ourselves, how to make a living, even how to pitch a tent and pluck a pheasant and clean a fish if necessary. With skills like those, nobody can ever push us Miles Girls around. And it makes it that much sweeter when we find help and support from our men and our friends. We've all managed to do that. We know how to choose the people we keep closest to us, and that's not by accident.

Rick is also one of the good dads. We raised three kids together - one of his and two of mine, and they all know how lucky they are to have him. Our kids also learned the Miles Work Ethic. They all worked with us in the pizza shop, and to be called a "princess" in our family was not a compliment. But they also learned that it's important to love what you do and to do what you love. Rick brought in a worldly monk's point of view that also made it OK to ponder the deeper reasons for our being here, and to follow our hearts when they sang out to be heard.

Rick wants to drive down to the rio for a little water time at Embudo Station today, so that's what we'll do. Later he'll want to watch basketball on TV. It's Father's Day. He can do what he wants. But you know what? He's such a nice guy, he can do that any old day and it won't bother me. I talked to my dad yesterday, and he already got his salmon, so our nod to Father's Day is taken care of. None of us really cares about The Day, but it's a good excuse to send a little gift and say something like, I'm glad you're my dad. And like Rick, my dad is a good enough guy to deserve a fish every darn day of the year. That's pretty high praise, coming from an outdoors man's daughter.


Kim and Doug (Daddy) - Bear Lake, 1967

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Later...
Here are a few pics from our trip to Embudo. What a beautiful place. My Barbie Dream House is set near a river. Wonder if I could live at this restaurant?