A middle seat again. To the left of him, a forty-something redhead from Louisiana with a skirt too short for the thickness of her legs and with hands too friendly --part natural curiosity, but mostly her wandering fingers are loosened by an extra stash Southwest drink coupons she stumbled upon. To the right of him, a crumbling, old man on oxygen who extends his arms and feet far across the unspoken boundaries of polite flight decorum. The middleman puts in earphones and closes his eyes. No music or audio-books playing. His body language resonates "don't talk to me" louder than any noise coming from audio-visual devices. No pleasure in this trip. Business as usual. Monday though Friday. Every week. Every month. East Coast. West Coast. North America. South America. Europe and Asia. He travels the world but only sees computers and office chairs that look the same no matter what language appears on their manufacturer labels. Always the same day, just a different place. At each new place, he gets a magnet for the family refrigerator and t-shirts for all four kids and his wife. Sometimes he carries home candy, exotic loose leaf teas and roses for the mother of his children for no reason at all.
He is a traditional dad. He speaks with a deep voice and expects the children to always say, "Yes, Sir" He sacrifices his time with the family, so they can live in a place with fresh air, great schools and arguably the best potato burritos on Earth. His methods are unconventional, too. He turns a blind-eye to ice cream breakfasts, calls the middle boy with seizures "butt-shake boy" (which always brings a much needed family laugh) and lets the kids stay up as late as they want on weekends. He is the DJ for the family's play-list that accompanies Rummikub and Uno tournaments. He takes the oldest boy to baseball practice at 9 a.m. on Sunday mornings to join the players who find peace on the field instead of in a pew. He gives the claw to his toddler, bringing about a squeal that wakes up all the neighborhood dogs, and he tickles his daughter until she reveals a mouth in need of extensive orthodontics. The whole house moves at the beat of his pulse when he is home and when he is absent, things keep moving at a pace to make daddy proud. Here or there, daddy is the the authority, inspiration and force that keeps the family of six together.
Happy Father's Day, my Handsome Husband. Thank you for the sacrifices you make to give us a great life.
