Sunday, June 17, 2007

A Toast To Fathers...

Here in the U.S. it's Father's Day. My Dad and I have a relationship that can be a little stressful at times and as a counselor it can be very irritating and frustrating. But there are also things that I wouldn't change for the world. Try as we may, it seems that it's almost inevitable that as we age, we start to see parts of our parents in ourselves. As I grow older, I see more and more of my dad in myself, but it's the things that I really enjoy about him that I see.

The first thing I've started to notice is that I have the beginning stages of laughter lines around my eyes (yikes!). My dad has lots of these, and I see them as a badge of honor. No one laughs and smiles like my dad. He finds humor in anything and is always able to bring a smile to the faces of people around him.

I've gained his love of music. This is also one of the things that can frustrate me sometimes about dad. Give him a few drinks and it's time to pull out the Beatles albums and lecture Chris! But he's passed down that love of music and because of him, I too have become a music snob.

He loves to cook and entertain and I enjoy doing the same. Don't all dads! At any given time I can go over to my dad's and be guaranteed to have a delicious gourmet meal. He's taught me some wonderful tricks of the trade and instilled in me that New Orleans love of cooking.

More than anything, I've inherited his love of people. My dad just enjoys being around other people and putting smiles on other peoples faces and I enjoy the same. He's completely unselfish in this manner and will truly go out of his way to make sure that other people are happy.

There's so much that needs work with Dad, but there's so much potential there too! I guess that's why I get so upset when he doesn't live up to that potential. I see all of these wonderful qualities listed above and see all the wonderful things that he's capable of and I want nothing but the best for him. I know he can achieve it and I wish him all the best.

Just thought of one more that I get from him more than anything...his Y'at accent! Here's what a Y'at accent is: For those from New Orleans or the south, you probably know. We here in New Orleans have a tendency to butcher the English language and use contractions way more often than we should (i.e. y'all). The term "yat" comes from the phrase "Where y'at?" This is a way of greeting people in New Orleans. It's sort of a "How are you?" thing. Like "Where are you in life?" or "Where Y'at?" Hence, the origin of the "yat accent". So now if you ever here someone say "he has a yat accent" you know what they're talking about.

Anyway, Happy Father's Day to all the dad's out there! To Carl and to all the husbands of the Mommy bloggers out there!

7 comments:

DesLily said...

awww how nice! Good post Chris..

I just want to know one thing.. how come MEN get LAUGH LINES and WOMEN get WRINKLES? huh? huh? go ahead.. tell me! lol

chrisa511 said...

I think everyone gets laugh lines...there's no such thing as wrinkles ;)

Bookfool said...

Ha! I know that "Where y'at" accent very well (although, of course, you realize I sound like a "Yankee", according to anyone and everyone in Vburg - that cracks me up).

I'm laughing at deslily and the laugh lines comment. Can't remember where I read it, but I remember reading about a small child who climbed on a mama's lap and pointed out the lines around her eyes. She said, "You have rays of sunshine." I love that.

chrisa511 said...

Lol...I'm very bad at picking up accents. I can tell obvious accents like the "Brooklyn accent" or the "country accent". I probably couldn't tell you what a Yankee accent sounded like though. So to me, you'd probably sound like just good ole bookfool!

"rays of sunshine"... I like that one ;)

Robin said...

What a nice post and tribute to your dad!

Carl V. Anderson said...

Thanks, happy belated future father's day to you! ;)

Great post. I'm sorry your relationship with your father isn't always easy, but it definitely sounds like there is a great foundation to continue building upon. And you have inherited some great qualities that you can continue to nuture and pass on to your children someday.

chrisa511 said...

Thanks Robin!

Carl, Future father's day...Scary! Actually, I look forward to that!
Me and my dad's relationship is really stressed at times, but it works. It just feels like I'm the dad sometimes and he's the son! But I guess it just happens like that sometimes. Thanks Carl!