#346.. In honor of Father's day...

In honor of father's day - I thought I would share with you a little private moment - a moment so cherished that it is burned into my husband's and my memory so crisp as the day it happened.  A moment that tells you, you are really a dad - and that you will love this kid to the day you die...

And for all you new father's out there - listen up - this too might happen to you one day in one form or another...

So there we were a few years ago, kneeling in the pew - in the middle of the most reverent, the most important part of mass - during the part that also happens to be the most quiet, the so quiet that you can hear a pin drop, part of mass - called the Consecration -  that my husband was holding our then, three year old son.

And the son, our son, ignoring the world around him, was quietly intent on studying his father's face so closely that he held his face in both of his little hands and kept turning his fathers head, slowly, from side to side. And the father, quietly complied and smiled at his son's persistance even though he was trying to listen to Mass.

And still the son went on studying him, softly touching his hair, his nose, then sticking his tiny finger softly into his eye to touch his eyelashes...and then his ear... And still the father smiled and tolerated his son's curiosity.

And then the son touched his own ears, and paused... and then loudly, very loudly, asked his father:

"Dad"...

"DAD." (patting him on the side of his cheek to get his attention...)

"sssh," whispered the father.

"DAD!" (taking and turning his face toward him with his hands...)

"Shhhh..." said the father, turning to face his son finally.

"DAD!" the son persisted, "WHEN I GET BIG, AM I GOING TO HAVE HAIR IN MY EARS TOO?"

The father's eyes widened in surprise and said, "What! SSSHHHH!!"

But the son persisted very seriously with his line of questioning, nodding his head with each word, louder and more slower, as if his dad were hard of hearing...

"DAD, WHEN I GET BIG....AM I GOING TO....HAVE HAIR IN...MY..EARS TOO....??" 

"Shh!! yes, uh, yes, maybe, I don't know....SHHH!!" quickly answered the slightly embarrassed father, while trying to control his laughter.

And the son, after processing his father's answer, and while looking a little disgusted, went..."Eww! That's yucky!"

To which the priest at the altar - suddenly halted -  and then continued praying aloud while trying to suppress a broad smile.

And the mother, and everyone else within earshot of the son's honest and open curiosity (which happened to be most of the congregation) continued on kneeling, shaking uncontrollably with quiet convulsions and tears streaming from our eyes.

Ah, out of the mouth's of babes...

~~So Happy Father's Day, to my husband - Thank you for giving me the best kids and all of the wonderful memories!

And Happy Father's Day to all of the father's -  present and past - we couldn't do it without you!