tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33516164.post8055604446575096379..comments2023-10-12T02:02:54.330-06:00Comments on Woman with a Hatchet: You Get What You Pay For: Father's DayWoman with a Hatchethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16539793554273012568noreply@blogger.comBlogger7125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33516164.post-20611446578805843522010-06-26T14:25:49.551-06:002010-06-26T14:25:49.551-06:00Solanaceae: Thanks so much for that. I think that&...Solanaceae: Thanks so much for that. I think that's one of the sweetest comments I've ever received. I'm all choked up. : )<br /><br />Candy: I'm sorry about your mom, too. I do have good memories of my dad that I cling to like a drowning woman. I'm just sad I can't really add more to them.<br /><br />Slow Panic: the repeating thing is a weird thing to see. Eric's grandmother did it and it was almost funny. She'd tell you the same great stories, over and over. Over the years, the time between the stories would be shorter and shorter. Her loop went from a few hours to about 30 minutes. Brains are weird. Aging bites!<br /><br />Monica: Hang in there, too. Maybe one day, you'll be able to move to CO and we'll share war stories.Woman with a Hatchethttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16539793554273012568noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33516164.post-14896291159750436892010-06-26T12:32:10.877-06:002010-06-26T12:32:10.877-06:00To this day I have yet to find another blog that c...To this day I have yet to find another blog that can make me laugh, cry and yearn for motherhood while at the same time be terrified of it more than yours and all in the same post! You are my favorite my non-humor blogger hands down. My heart is heavy for your troubles. Alzheimer's is a terrible thing. <br /><br />The parent/child realtionship is a strange thing. I think sometimes it's easy to see it in terms of black of white when the truth is, it's the shades of grey, all of them, good and bad, that are the most beautiful.Solanaceaehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11091792596934763707noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33516164.post-26792467680278455232010-06-25T09:07:45.679-06:002010-06-25T09:07:45.679-06:00Hey Dawn, I'm sorry I didn't leave example...Hey Dawn, I'm sorry I didn't leave examples in the blog, but YES, I remember the good stuff from when we were kids. I didn't list it all out (although thanks to you, I now remember the fish bone thiing!), but they are the memories that I cling to about dad: when we were small. The middle years, the teenage years and early 20s were the rough parts.<br /><br />The call from mom about Ian and Dad. The call from Cindy. That stuff, unfortunately, is more current and colors the other memories.<br /><br />BUT. I remember the crazy birthday cake slices. And giant slabs of drippy watermelon and eating all of the ice cream out of the freezer during blackouts in the summer and laying on the back of the trailer in the backyard while doing it.<br /><br />One of my favorite memories is going camping together, walking through the woods quietly and talking to a loon. With dad. I loved camping with him. And I loved him. Please don't think I have no good memories left, I do.<br /><br />Thank you for adding to them.Woman with a Hatchethttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16539793554273012568noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33516164.post-29726789475719149042010-06-25T08:48:10.366-06:002010-06-25T08:48:10.366-06:00We did have 'sunny days' with Dad growing ...We did have 'sunny days' with Dad growing up - maybe they weren't as frequent as Eric or Jayson has with the kids or Matt will after Dot is born, but they happened and those moments live in my memory still. Not so much as full movie - I remember every detail - memories. Many are like snapshots - Fireworks on Uncle Walter's farm in Canada, camping trips next to a field of ripe raspberries and near a stream with the sweetest trout ever. Maybe you missed out on coming to Canda and being treated to fresh New Brunswick Lobster - cooked and cleaned served up in a bowl after Dad did all the hard work. You were there for all the times we were affectionately called monkees, and we got raspberry kisses instead of pecks on the cheek. Sleigh rides down the open field near the park, fishing trips when the Bank chartered a boat. Did you come to the hockey games? Dad loved us the way he knew - he got up every day, went to a job with people he didn't much care for, kept a roof over our head, picked all the bones out of the fish for us, made sure we ate our liver and brussel sprouts (cause you know it was 'good' for us), he didn't coddle us much if we fell, instead he tried to make light of it so that we would too. Yes I miss him too and it hurts to see the changes that have happened, but I will cherish the memories I have and the stories we've been told of offers of peaches, ice cream and gigantic slices of watermelon for those precious first steps that he was there for, creating our very own ice rink in the driveway and trying to teach us to skate, those silly little wading pools in the backyard, rhubarb in the backyard which eventually got turned into rhubarb custard pie. How mom always had to make at least 2 of those pies because he'd would always eat one practically by himself, and yet still made sure we each got a share in the other one. And don't forget the strawberry shortcake big enough to fill and overflow a breakfast bowl and even an adult's stomach. How about every Christmas when he made us those huge stockings filled with treats galore?!?!Dawnnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33516164.post-2862898598764717042010-06-24T13:29:36.921-06:002010-06-24T13:29:36.921-06:00I'm so sorry for what you're dealing with....I'm so sorry for what you're dealing with. Alzheimer's is terrible, so much worse than cancer, at least for those of us watching it. Thinking of you guys today. -- MonicaAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33516164.post-88494366098309898612010-06-24T09:49:47.003-06:002010-06-24T09:49:47.003-06:00My mom is 75 and I'm noticing she will often t...My mom is 75 and I'm noticing she will often tell me the same thing twice in one phone call. I'm not particularly worried about Alzheimer's but I see old age creeping up on her.<br /><br />My father-in-law retired early -- at 55 -- so when I had my kids he was really really involved in them. He came to the house every day. It was wonderful. HE passed away when my boys were 3 and 7. We were blessed to have the time we did.<br /><br />My husband is very involved with the kids. I'm very thankful for that. <br /><br />My heart goes out to you as you deal with your dad's alzheimersslow panichttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00806001325853693285noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33516164.post-40030624423139041902010-06-23T20:26:30.332-06:002010-06-23T20:26:30.332-06:00Wonderful post! I understand your pain as my moth...Wonderful post! I understand your pain as my mother died of Alzheimer's and heart and lung disease. It is sad that you do not have better memories with your father. This happens all so often. We always think we will have more time but that is not always so. I was lucky that I do have great memories with my Mom. So for that I am grateful.<br /><br />Your husband sounds like a wonderful father. Very hands on. You are a very lucky woman and your children will have these memories to last the rest of there lives. I am glad that he learned what not to do from his upbringing and I am sure he learned from your experiences. It sounds like he had a wonderful well deserved day. <br /><br />My husband is a better father than his. He will not admit this but it is true. We have two boys and he tells them he loves them and hugs them. They are 21 and 23. He did not get this treatment from his father until I came along. I forced love on them and his father responded.<br /><br />Take care and look forward to your next post.Candice Suter.....Sweetstuffhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03439964856042558664noreply@blogger.com