Happy Father's Day

I am trying to empty the attic at my father's house during the warmest June I can remember. In the midst of about 100 empty gift boxes, several plastic Christmas trees and old utility bills dating back to the 1980's, (I go through EVERY piece of paper), I did find some gems.

Happy Father's Day to my maternal grandfather. My grandfather was a jeweler, semi retired when I remember him. He was very quiet, had an overstuffed comfy chair and foot stool straight out of Mary Engelbreit and read lots of magazines and newspapers. Here is a precious photo I found in with some non-related papers. Sadly he passed away in 1969 or 70, while I was in middle school.

Isn't he precious?

Next I want to wish a Happy Father's Day to my paternal grandfather.

He is the guy second from the left. I just found this picture a few days ago and it has an interesting story. The gentleman on the left was my dad's Uncle Charlie, who was his mother's brother. His mother, Mary, is the bride and to her right is Charlie's wife, Helen. Charlie passed away in the 1940's, my grandmother Mary passed away in the 1950's and in the 1960's, my grandfather "Pop" married his widowed sister in law, Helen. So this is actually a picture of my grandfather and his first and second wife.   I did not know him very well. They lived about an hour from us and that was a distance back in the day. And I think that the women folk planned the entertaining back then and my step grandmother was closer to her own family. I do remember that when we would visit she would always make homemade noodles. It took her about 2 minutes to make noodles for a crowd of people. I was amazed! He passed away while I was in high school.

I would like to wish a Happy Father's Day to my own father. Here he is in his service photo.

We have not always had the easiest relationship; we are very different people. But I still want to wish him the best on this Father's Day and on the next chapter of his life. He has had several set backs with his health in the last few years and after suffering a significant stroke in April, I have moved in with him and we are making arrangements for him to move to an assisted living residence.

I hope you all have wonderful plans for this Father's Day. I am so grateful for the wonderful father my husband has been to our own children (how did a dumb seventeen year old blonde get so lucky when choosing him?) and for my son who will become a father in July. He is already so prepared and excited and I know that baby will be so lucky to have him as a father, too.