Stuff Happens

So my dad is going into the hospital tomorrow. He's having open heart surgery for an aortic aneurysm on Friday.

It really feels like someone else just typed that sentence.

My dad runs and bikes. He can outrun my kids. He hasn't smoked since the '60's. He's NOT the guy who's supposed to need heart surgery.

I don't know how to write about it. I don't know what to say. We're all apprehensive. I think my dad is dreading the recovery most of all. He's not the best with medically imposed limits. Or pain. (Of course, who is, really? People who handle such things with perfect grace, good cheer and serenity throughout kinda freak me out)

I love you, Dad.

It sucks. It's scary.

Happy Birthday, Dad

So last Wednesday was my 37th birthday. Contrary to what my bloggy absence might indicate, this did not traumatize me that much. Really. I can TOTALLY handle being in my late thirties. Anyway, last Wednesday was also my dad's birthday. (Coincidentally, it was also my aunt's - though not by blood - birthday AND a family friend's. Do you know anyone born on July 2nd or is it just a popular day in my world? Just wondering.)

I've been meaning to write a birthday blog for my dad for days now, but real life (and the occasional nap) kept intruding.

My dad gave me my first real journal, sending me down a path that would eventually lead to blogging. He also introduced me to the works of J.D. Salinger, F. Scott Fitzgerald and countless mystery authors. He loves to talk about news and politics, and expected me to join in the discussions he would have with my uncles. When I was seven.

My father comes from a long line of small town doctors, which I'm pretty sure drove him into the news business. He went from college in Pittsburgh to college in New York back to college in Pittsburgh while working at a radio station in Chicago, with a lot more ease than I would have had after growing up in his small western Pennsylvania hometown. Eventually he worked in Pittsburgh again, where he met my mom. Because she was his boss. He managed to snag her anyway.  He covered most of the major news events of the late '60's and early '70's, before starting his own business - which involved a new thing called video.

My dad has always been hip. Maybe it comes from being a drummer, I don't know. There was a while in college when I knew as much about cool music as he did, but that day is long past. Now I'm lucky if I've heard of his latest musical interest. My dad took me to my first concert - Bruce Springsteen's Born in the USA tour, his last night in Jersey. I was definitely the coolest thirteen year old around after that. Actually, he took me to the last concert I went to as well - the True Colors tour last year. He wanted to go because the Dresden Dolls were playing - I wanted to see '80's stalwarts like Erasure and Deborah Harry. See what I mean?

I love you, Dad.

Happy Father's Day

First of all, thank you to Hot Guy for being such a devoted father. There is nothing better than watching you play with our kids. You are wonderfully playful and affectionate and you still change diapers faster than I do. You are amazing.

Secondly, thank you to my dad for being such a good dad and an even better grandfather. I am grateful for all you've done for me and for us. Also, thank you for taking me to my first concert (Bruce Springsteen-Born in the USA, how cool is THAT?) and to the first one I've been to in years (tomorrow's True Colors with Cyndi Lauper, The Dresden Dolls and Margaret Cho).

Third of all, thank you to my father-in-law, for being such a good dad, welcoming in-law and wonderful grandfather. We miss you every day and can't wait to see you in August.

Finally, my pet peeve. I can't be all sweetness and light, people. On Father's Day, I think it's only right to point out the difference between plurals and possessives. Plurals are when you add "s" to show more than one. Example: On Mondays I do laundry. Possessives are when you add
" 's " to show possession. Example: Monday's epidsode of Studio 60 was lame.

That's all you really need to know. My first graders (most of whom came from socially and economically challenged backgrounds) were able to grasp the concept. But I see signs everywhere with apostrophes plopped in the middle of plurals (Hamburger's Half Off, for example) and it drives me insane. If my first graders could get it, then really anyone should be able to do it.

Look at our holiday: Father's Day. It is the day of honoring the father - his day. He owns it. Hence the apostrophe. See how easy that is? I know that my own grammar is not perfect - I scatter commas like grass seed and I don't really get colons and semi-colons (not to mention my run - on sentences) - but I can correctly do anything my former students can do, at least. Shouldn't everyone be able to meet that standard?