Father’s Day was never a particularly big deal in my family, so I didn’t think the first Father’s Day after my father’s passing would be problematic for me. Well, it turns out I was at least partially wrong. I still don’t anticipate the day itself being especially difficult for me. I’m sure I will think about him, but I find myself doing that on a fairly regular basis and mostly it is in ways that make me smile. No, it is the lead up that is making me kind of nuts.
My email box has been deluged with emails reminding me to think of my father this month and to express my appreciation of him by purchasing whatever product they are selling. No, none of these messages are new. They have been filling up my email box for years. I am just finding them newly annoying. I wish there was some sort of registry for those of us who have recently lost a father and don’t need any reminders, thank you very much.
I think the most ridiculous part for me is that it is rare indeed that any of the products being sold would have been a good match for my father anyway. He was not a golfer, nor did he spend his weekend in his garage doing whatever it is men are supposed to do with tools and toolboxes. He was not a big fan of ties and wore them only when absolutely necessary. I think he stopped using aftershave in the early 80’s.
Being a geek myself, I also get the reminders from sellers of geeky products (why yes, I am talking about you ThinkGeek), but somehow these bother me less. My father was somewhat of a geek and never met a pun he didn’t like. At least some of these emails make me smile when I think about whether he would find the product in question funny or not. Nevertheless, I could still live without the reminder right now.
Moving away from the ranty part of the show, I thought I would also share an update on my walking adventures. It seems I have been aiming too low with my goals. Last week I walked almost 21 miles and in the last 3 days, I have walked 10 miles. The hardest part of the walk is always the steps to get myself out the door. Once I close the door behind me, I am fine.
This week I have had both my walking buddy and a cat to feed to force me out the door. Next week my walking buddy is going to San Francisco and my cat sitting responsibilities will be over so I will need to serve as my own motivation to take those first few steps. Hopefully, my will will be strong enough to displace my cat and get me to cross my threshold.