This Year My Dad Is Not Getting A Picture Painted With Fingerpaints.

Tonight is one of those frantic nights. It is almost 10:30 and normally I would be in bed by now or asleep on my couch. Not tonight though. Tomorrow my parents are coming into town and since I just found out today that they are officially staying at Casa de Dusti, I am in cleaning mode. I just cleaned my bathroom, mopped and now I need to straighten up what I h ave designated the wedding invitation area of my living room floor.
During all of this cleaning, I had to remember to wrap my dad's Father's Day gift. I went to Target tonight and bought a light blue breathable golfing shirt and card. Even though my dad tells us he enjoys getting golf or motorcycle stuff for occasions like this one, it seems to be getting harder and harder to buy for him. He is an adult who can easily go out and buy whatever he wants so I feel bad for only getting him a shirt. But really, he is not going to go buy himself a shirt because he hates shopping for clothes. Maybe this will turn out to be a gift that he really appreciates because it is something he would not get for himself.

What really made me stop and think about his gift was actually the card that I picked out to give him. Normally I would get him a goofy card because we both don't care for mushy love cards unless they are from our significant other. This year is different though. Since Bryan and I are getting married in less than two months, I have felt that I need to spend more time with my parents anytime I see them. I feel like things should be more sentimental this year. Take Mother's Day this year. I went to the Hallmark store at the last minute to go grab my mom and grandmothers Mother's Day cards. Getting the cards for my grandmothers was easy but I felt like I had to pick out the BEST card for my mom. Turns out I picked out a card that talked about how a mother helps her daughter get ready for her wedding on her wedding day. That seemed very relevant given the fact that we were only three months away from a wedding by that point. I started to tear up in the store when I read that card. I NEVER cry at cards so it was very strange to cry over that card. This Father's Day card is the same way. I did not cry in Target (mostly because I was supposed to meet family in Aggieville), but I still felt the "Oh this is perfect" feeling with this card. The words say that he was always there for me, took interest in what I did, and points out that everytime we are together we have fun. That sums up the relationship that my dad and I have.

I don't know what to expect when he reads this. Should I expect anything? Probably not. He will reply the same way he always would be it a funny card or a sentimental card by saying "Well thank you very much." I don't want him to ball over the card; I just want him to know that I mean every word of it.

Last night I was talking to my future mother in-law on the phone and we were talking about all the men that would cry at the wedding. I told her that if my dad cries at all, I will break down and it will probably take a lot for me to stop crying. My dad and I are not sentimental together but we definetly have one of those relationships where you do not have to talk about much to have a good time together. When we do talk on the phone (which is very rare unless I have a car problem), we talk business, politics, sports, and anything else that does not revolve around emotion. It is weird, but I feel like my relationship with my dad is closer than my relationship with my mom. Depsite the fact that I talk to my mom almost everyday, my dad and I are so alike that we know how each other works and we just have fun together and know how to talk to one another. I love that about us. Everything can be completely unspoken yet you say everything.

Everyone's relationship is different in their own way. I hope everyone has a special relationship with someone in their life that makes them happy to have that person near and dear to them.

-Dusti Jean