It was really fun to watch Kathy and her dad working side by side yesterday . . . and not just because it meant I was watching someone else doing work that I probably should have been doing myself ! But as always, it was just fun to see father and oldest daughter in action together, each remind me so much of the other – and working in close affectionate harmony. Task #1 was digging out the tomato plants which Bob has been raising in our backyard. (Apparently, just letting them rot on the ground is not what you’re suppose to do, although that sounds good to me.) I was mostly an observer except for a few minutes when I was literally ‘holding the bag’ (as in garbage bag) – and it was just fun to be reminded again of where Kathy got her love for gardening. (Too bad she hasn’t inherited her dad’s love of weeding!) Then the two of them drove up to Colder’s to pick up the recliner we bought for our family room to go with our new leather couch. Only two of us could fit in the car (with the back seat folded down) and it took about five seconds to figure out that I was the expendable one – – – because nobody is worse when it comes to figuring out how to fit something big into a fairly small space. So I was on laundry detail and dog entertainment until their return about an hour later with our lovely new chair – in two pieces. It turns out that the back comes off very easily and can be reattached with a minimum of fuss – although if it had been up to me, I would probably have just put the chair squarely in the corner, propped the back of the chair against the wall, and not worried about reconnecting it. Fortunately, Dad & Daughter Furniture Movers were on the case and in about ninety seconds they had our new chair reconnected and reclining.
I love Kathy’s dad – not just for who he is, but for who is daughter Kathy is. True, she inherited a couple of his faults – – – I don’t think this is the place to get into any of that 🙂 – – – but much more significant and numerous are the many traits that I love in her . . . her down to earth approachability, her sense of humor, her love of music, her commitment to teaching, her fascination with growing things and fixing things, her common sense – and yes, her occasional volatility. And never am I more aware of all that they share than when the two of them are working up a sweat on some particular project – wrinkling their collective brows, combining their smarts, cracking jokes, and just enjoying that easy sense of teamwork that only family and close friends can have.
We opted to pick up our new chair to save the $60 moving charge. . . but truth be told, for Kathy these times with her dad are priceless.