Father’s Day is always a tough day for me as I am sure it is for anyone who has lost their father. This year with the launch of Bellisari’s, I thought I would reflect on what it means to me and try to look at it with a different set of eyes.
My father was probably one of the most talented people you would ever meet, extremely athletic, chef, master carpenter, party thrower extraordinaire and the most intimidating figure on two legs (at least from his six kids perspective). That man could have you shaking in your boots with a mere glance and catch you in a split second if you thought you could outrun the trouble you were in. Even if he was in the midst of cooking for a football team, the neighborhood or an entire Bahamian Island he would still have eyes in the back of his head to watch us.
I think that is why it is so ironic that our last visit together was so different. I had just had my first child, two weeks into it and had no clue what I was doing yet. What I did know is that my son cried…a lot. At that point I did not know what colicky or sensory issues were. I thought all newborns cried 24 hours a day. Since our family could not go without a meal my dad said, “lets get out of the house and get some lunch”. So he and I loaded up went to lunch and on the way home I remember as my son cried and cried my father reaching his large stature over the front seat rubbing my sons head and putting a pacifier in his mouth and calming my son so easily that I just sat there bewildered. Wow, I thought, add that to the list of things I didn’t know he could do...but will always remember him doing.
Hold on tight to those daddy’s today…. times are fleeting.
Happy Father’s Day