What does Father's Day bring a widowed mom like myself and a sweet, growing four year old boy? It brings back lots of memories of Eric's first year with Ethan and the love and closeness reflected between the two of them. The value and meaningful nature of their relationship was uniquely special given the situation at the time. Some three year later, that single year has been transformed into a memory that is contained within the confines of my own mind. Ethan's ability to bring forth memories of his exchanges with "dad" isn't available to him. It's primarily my existance that keeps the bond going and alive and also, the men that knew Eric from the numerous years before his passing...
So, on Sunday, we celebrated not just "dads", but all the male role models in Ethan's life, including the signifigant relationship shared between Ethan and Papa. I honestly can't fathom how different our situation would be without him. His apparent love for Ethan continues to provide Ethan a source of security and a greater understanding of the complexities and splendor of boyhood. The two are inseperable when together. This isn't surprising either given the support and commitment my father has put forth since the very day of the loss. It was him who stood behind us when Eric's last breath was taken and from that moment, he's not moved...even now, he remains with us. His presense is constant and his love for Ethan, forever lasting. I'm totally grateful.
I sometimes think that photos don't just happen by accident when it appears that they do. In this particular case, the very first photo above took on the focus of this gorgeous flower rather then the intended target. Not sure how it happened, but I suppose a glitch could be to blame. In any event, it's a beautiful image that gives reminder of how we lucky we are to experience the beauty of this world, especially on Father's Day.
Ethan loves lights almost as much as he loves water. We found this one for papa at a small gift show. It's fueled by the sun and after a day's charge, lights up during the evening hours. Papa planted it inside one of the flower pots near the front door for easy viewing and now we wait anxiously as it collects enough energy to upstart it's first light cycle! I really don't know who's more excited about this light, me or Ethan? Laugh. It should make for an interesting show though!
The best cards are usually handmade and constructed by children! They've no sense of limitation and their message is often clear and precise. With the help of mom's scrapbook stash, Ethan put together a small Father's Day card for his grandpa and signed it himself! Well done, little guy!
Yes, it turned out to be a day full of memories for us this weekend + a few band-aids. It appears that Ethan's sandals are poorly suited for running - two trip-ups in one day! Poor Guy! Thankfully, he wasn't seriously hurt..the band-aids did the trick of helping him feel better too.
Life is rough when you're a kid.
I've to return tomorrow with a re-visit to one of my popular tutorials from last Summer. Anyone feel like taking a guess at which tutorial pulled through with the most viewers? I've never been able to surpass the project since it's unveiling and from what I can tell, it's still finding it's way to those that visit here! Amazing!!
So, I'll rejoin you tomorrow with a reminder of the tutorial and images of someone's own eye-catching interpretation of it! Should be exciting....
~CM~
