Quote of the Day

"When I was a kid, I said to my father one afternoon, 'Daddy, will you take me to the zoo?' He answered, 'If the zoo wants you, let them come and get you.'"" -- Jerry Lewis

Picture of the Day

Beyond all belief to the contrary,

apparently grilled cheese can lose its excitement.

Send your favorite kid pictures to: dalessandrochristine@gmail.com

Happy Father's Day

One of my favorite parts of the day is my husband's return home from work.

Of course it signifies the relinquishing of complete parental responsibility, but it is also the moment when my children stop whatever it is that they are doing and lose their minds with excitement.

My daughter runs to him and jumps into his arms as if he's been gone long on some distant trek, while my little man flails his arms about and shouts, "Ah Da".

Seeing his face is also part of the daily joy. No matter what the market did, no matter how long the commute, here is a moment in the day when nothing else really matters all that much.

It is life at its best.

My husband and I met in college where the world of courtship entailed meeting up at the same places and Saturday dates at Friendly's. Sequestered in the cloistered world of classes, parties, and more parties, there is little thought of the future beyond the worry of securing a job post-graduation. Marriage, real responsibility, and certainly children are something far from anyone's minds.

And so I certainly wasn't choosing my dates by their potential to be a good father, which is why I consider myself to be one of the luckiest people around.

Even at its toughest, being a father is his greatest success. He loves what he does, he loves his family, but more than anything, he loves his children.

And they love him right back.

Happy Father's Day, John.

Happy Father's Day!

It is fair to say that I spend every waking moment (at least those moments when I am not worrying about my children, thinking about my husband, and obsessing about my Circus Peanuts addiction), trying to figure out a way to convince my father that he and my mother should move to New Jersey.

Given the absurdly high taxes, the ridiculous cost of auto insurance, and our poor gubernatorial track record I have before me quite a challenge. With each visit, I shower him with peanut M&Ms and root beer floats, I pepper his suite with mints, reading materials, and Southern New Jersey Living circulars, and I work to convince them him that there is no better place to retire than in a little rancher I build in our backyard.

So far...no luck.

Despite my limited progress, my resolve has not waned. And here is why:

1) I am 32 years old and he still calls me "Muffet Marie".

2) My daughter lives to "zurbert" him and my son prefers his arms to mine when he has the option.

3) Their is no one's advice I would trust more.

4) Like his father before him, the man can pack a car with the precision of a neurosurgeon.

5) He has the greatest laugh.

6) He can still beat my brothers in a wrestling match; even when it is two against one.

7) Though I inherited none of his nuclear engineering genes, my father can figure out anything (whether it is some high tech device or assembling a Barbie car or the Millenium Falcon).

8) He believes in second chances.

9) He served his country for 27 years.

10) He loves my mother more with each passing year.

11) He loves his children through stumbles and success.

12) He made me promise to always stay five, and then loved me anyway when I continued to grow.

Wishing my father all the love "a sailor's only daughter" can send, by blog or by embrace.

Happy Father's Day!

(I am trying to convince John to put his Home Depot gift card toward the finishing of our basement a la in-law suite).

A Father By Law, And So Much More

Though in-laws in general tend to get a bad rap, my own happen to be pretty terrific. I guess that never should have come as a surprise since one of my first impressions of my husband was how sincere and valued he was.

He worked hard, he never followed the crowd, and he was already a young man filled with conviction, integrity, and faith. He was all of this while most of our peers were measuring their manhood by their ability to perform a three minute keg stand or wear unlaundered clothes for weeks at a time. He was unique.

And then I met his father.

John Sr. has a very strong and striking presence that quickly softens as soon as he speaks. Ever ready with a warm smile and a great joke (which I seem to appreciate more than most), I instantly felt a genuine fondness for the man who would eventually be my father-in-law. He laughs easily and often, he is generous and kind, he is intensely loyal and fair, and he is a man of his word.

He taught my husband to always keep his eye on the ball, the importance of honesty in business and in life, and what it means to be a good man.

For that, and for being a part of my life and the life of my family...eternal thanks.

Happy Father's Day, Poppy.

For Two of My Favorite Fathers

My mother, who was one of five children, once told me that her brothers did not treat her as anything other than their older sister until she had children of her own.

After years of chasing her on the beach with horseshoe crabs, listening in on her conversations with friends, and making her life one big headache, her two brothers finally began to see her as a real person when she became someone's mother. Suddenly they were eager to lend a hand, consider her feelings, and value her opinions. It was a transference of roles and a transformation of identities.

As the little annoying sister of two older brothers, I could never imagine serving any higher purpose than tormenting my own brothers. I'd tag along, I'd rat them out, and I would wait all day by the phone in the hopes of intercepting a call from a girl.

Flashforward two decades and two children, I am still my brothers' sister and I only occasionally have the opportunity to torment them. Part geography and part maturity, it isn't so much that I have changed tremendously in their eyes, as they have in mine.

As I struggle to manage my family and find my way through the every changing scape of Parentland, I now look to my brothers, fathers of four and three children respectively, as models of what to do.

These two people with whom I spent hours of my life wrestling for territory in the back seat of our cramped cars are now their children's greatest coaches, biggest fans, strongest advocates, and most loving guides.

I realize that this tribute is tending to paint them with perfection; but, of course they are not. They both have one inherent flaw that I simply cannot forgive despite all else.

They live entirely too far away.

Happy Father's Day to the fathers of seven of the luckiest kids I know.

Happy Father's Day!!

"A man never stands as tall as when he kneels to help a child." -Knights of Pythagoras