Daddy

My daddy's birthday was yesterday. I thought about it Friday night and again about 11:30 last night. But I forgot it when it was appropriate to call. Today I had to take Daughters A and B to camp near Marble Falls, on the way home I decided to call and say "Happy Birthday, sorry I forgot yesterday". He wasn't home. My mom was, though, and she told me he was at their retirement place outside of Lockhart. Since I'm free all this week - no kids, no husband, no expectations - I decided to surprise him and go down. This was about 4:30. By 6:00 I was in Maxwell with a batch of fake homemade cookies (the frozen dough kind) and our dog Maddie because I hadn't walked her yet. No one else was there, just Daddy and me! I can't remember the last time I had my daddy to myself. It was meant to be a birthday surprise for him, but it ended up being a gift for me as well. He was Daddy, not Pops, the grandfather to my children. We wandered around with the dog (who was afraid of EVERYTHING), looked at the drying fish tank and the dry garden. He showed me a huge snake that had surprised him in a bucket of water. (Daddy hates snakes, so it was dead by the time I got there.) We sat on the swing and talked and watched it RAIN! This was truly an evening for miracles. After a couple of hours my aunt and uncle showed up (they have a place there, too) and shortly after that my mom came with my neice. We had an improptu dinner of grilled sausages that Daddy had cooked up for us, and sat around and visited. By 10:30 I was home. Total time was about 6 hours, 1/4 of a day. I felt relaxed and rested. I had started with an attitude of this was something I had to do, and came home refreshed. I should spend more time alone with Daddy.