By Vicki Scott
Father’s Day this year brought a new perspective for me, as everything on my mind is usually about making sweet memories for our grandchildren.
Our children put together a Father’s Day celebration at our lake house in Dadeville, where they grew up. We had no idea what their plans were, and I was instructed not to bring or do anything. I was excited, because our children are good at planning such events.
We had plenty of food, as we always do at these events. Our daughter Eva and her husband Trey brought over a pontoon boat, drinks, snacks, chicken and ribs. Our son Joseph and his wife Machi brought potatoes, salad, snacks and a special gift with a tee shirt. Machi’s mother and father (also known as Yia Yia and Papou, which is Greek for grandmother and grandfather) were invited, and Yia Yia took on the grilling responsibilities. They are both professional chefs who usually do the cooking wherever they are at. I had no problem with that. Machi made a salad and some mashed potatoes, while I made some carrots the way I learned from Hello Fresh.
After we ate, we went on a boat ride and enjoyed the rest of the day. When we returned, Joseph presented a special gift to his father (my husband, Alan). To explain the reason for said gift, some background information is in order.
Our lake house is located close to a golf course with thick woods between the course and our house. Many people lose golf balls in these woods. There is probably a path from our house to the woods from when Alan and our children hunted golf balls. There are also a few spots in the lake that have claimed many golf balls, and they would dive to retrieve those.
One day, I asked Alan to take me and our oldest grandchild, Ava Jaymes, to their spot in the woods. The trip was cut short after I stepped over a snake on the way and turned around and went back. When I later told Joseph about this incident, he informed me about a time when Alan stepped over a big rattlesnake. That ended my golf ball hunting experience.
We’ve found so many golf balls that we bagged them to sell in our booth in Alexander City, but Joseph would not let Alan sell the good ones, and we found out why on this past Father’s Day –
Joseph had washed and cleaned almost 50 golf balls collected from golf hunting over the past 25 years! He glued each of them in a framed memory box for his father, depicting 25 years of fond memories of hunting golf balls.
I was not involved in this quality time, but Alan was, and this was the perfect gift for one who made fond memories for his children. That’s what I’m talking about!
Alan has moved his memory box several times while trying to find the perfect spot for it. It’s so cute! I felt like all the things done for Alan was indirectly done for me, since I married him. What a blessed day we had! I look forward to many more fond memories. Hopefully, all our fathers out there had a Happy Father’s Day full of fond memories!
Contact Vicki Scott at lily200383@yahoo.com.