Greg & Deb on the Web

Sunday I wrote a Father's Day post on the the computer in Allie's room. There's not a lot of productivity software on Allie's computer. In fact, the closest thing to a word processor is her Disney Princess Datebook. So I used the old Mac's notepad to describe Julia eating soap. I thought I'd really play it old school and use a floppy disk to sneakernet the file down here to the computer in the basement.

This computer doesn't have a floppy drive.

I spent 45 minutes trying to get an old CD burner to work on Allie's Mac. No luck. That means no Father's Day blog.

No big loss. However I've still got Father's day on my mind. After all, I had a great time. I was served breakfast in bed and got presents (a card, a Coolest Daddy T-Shirt and the third season of the Simpsons on DVD). I'm grateful not only to my wonderful wife and kids, but to Sonora Dodd.

Sonora got the ball rolling on Father's Day. A little Googling reveals Mother's Day came first (well of course it did). In the U.S. the first Mother's Day was celebrated in 1872. It wasn't until 1909 that Sonora Dodd came up with the idea for the holiday.

She was listening to a Mother's Day sermon and decided there should be a special day to honor her father, William Smart. William, who was a Civil War veteran, was widowed when his wife died while giving birth to their sixth child. Mr. Smart was left to raise the newborn and his other five children by himself on a rural farm in eastern Washington state.

Six kids. On his own. . .

I'm thinking this guy deserved a really nice tie. Sonora did too so she organized the first Father's Day celebration in June (William was born in June) in Spokane.

I've been to Spokane. I don't remember seeing any signs or anything.

President Calvin Coolidge, in 1924, probably didn't give a crap about Sonora's dad deserving a nice tie but he did support the idea of a national Father's Day. However, it wasn't until 1966 that President Lyndon Johnson signed a presidential proclamation declaring the third Sunday of June as Father's Day.

I was born in 1966.

Born to be a Dad?

Probably not.

But I am trying. For example: I'm cutting way back on tormenting. I haven't brought up Allie's imaginary sister, Carol, in months. And I haven't (intentionally) called Allie by the wrong name in weeks. I do admit to trying to convince Allie that her mother wasn't really on her way to the grocery store but was, in fact, leaving to find a new place to live. Allie, Julia and Pig would stay in the old house while Deb and I would live in the new house.

Allie didn't buy it. So that definitely doesn't count as tormenting.

The only kid I've intentionally pissed off lately is Julia and that's only for her own protection. After eating soap she also ate quite a large amount of green sidewalk chalk which I had to dig out of her mouth with my fingers. A lid from a lip balm almost made it down her throat and I had to drag her away from the basement stairs three times. I had to repeatedly protect the plants on the baker's rack in the kitchen and finally hid the wine cork collection in the dining room.

So I am working hard, trying to live up to breakfast in bed and my Simpson DVD collection. That's not exactly a cake walk considering I already know I've got more than I deserve.

However, regardless of how grateful I am I'm still working on a plan to convince Allie the cat is hiding all of her toys at night.