What’s
everybody doing for Father’s Day? I asked the second graders. Is anyone
planning something special for dad?
“I’m
taking him to Florida,” said Ashley.
“I’m
getting him a pet,” said Eddie.
What
a surprise that will be for dad, I thought.
“Both
grandmas and grandpas are coming,” said Joey. “We’re going to Long Beach Island
tomorrow, and then they’re all going to sleep over.”
You
guys are too much, I told them.
“That’s
what my mom always says,” said Kira, who has two siblings in the same
elementary school.
“We’re
going swimming,” said Emma.
Do
you have your own pool, I asked her.
“No,
we’re going to the town pool. But guess what? I’m getting a pool next year. My
dad said he is going to dig one for us.”
In
the back yard?
“Yes.
And you know what the best part is?”
The
possibilities there were endless.
“It’s
going to be right next to the trampoline.” Her excitement was palpable.
Oh,
so you can bounce right into the pool then. I bet you can’t wait for next
summer.
“I
know.” Accompanied by an ear-to-ear smile.
Second-grader
Sean told me, “If I knew you were going to be here today, I would have worn my ‘Dude’
T-shirt.”
Too
bad for me, I said. I wish I could have seen that.
“I
have two of them: one long sleeve and one short sleeve.”
The
short-sleeved one is to show off the guns, right?
“Oh,
yeah!” he said, flexing.
But
I hope you are all going to take it easy on dad on his special day, I said. You
know, give him a break, do something nice, maybe bring him a cold drink when he’s
in the hammock (wondering at the same time if dads anywhere ever spent time in
a hammock and if any of the children even knew what a hammock is).
Part
two of that was quickly answered.
“We
have a hammock,” said Eddie, “but it’s broken because we were all
playing in it.”
“Mr.
K., I’m drawing a picture of you,” announced Anthony. “You can
have it when I’m done.”
How
flattering, I thought. And then I saw the drawing. Do I really bear such a
strong resemblance to SpongeBob SquarePants, I wondered.
“I’m
giving you a six-pack,” said Anthony, joyfully pointing to his illustration’s
abdomen. O.K., that is about as close to six-pack abs as I’m ever going to
have. And as Anthony proceeded to add details to his composition that enhanced
the value of the artwork, he unremorsefully reconsidered his pledge. “Take a
picture of it, Mr. K,” he said. “I’m going to give it to my father next week.”
I
regret that I did not have a camera to record for posterity the finished
product, which was inscribed “To Dad: Happy farthers day. From: Anthony”
