The Trifecta

June is a usually a good month - well at least I used to think it was. Really, what's not to like? When we were young it was the beginning of warm weather and summer vacation, camp, sleeping in, goofing off with friends till the sunset then running home for dinner and then heading back out for more. I suppose getting older makes June a little less magical, more bridal and baby showers to go to or weddings attend, maybe having to deal with those irritating teens hanging out at the mall. But it's still the beginning of summer - even if we don't quite celebrate it the same.

When I lived in the Bay Area summer didn't really get into full swing till August, but June usually held those first few peeks at what was to come - it meant that San Francisco could actually get to 70 degrees and we could shed our sweaters and go for lunch outside. In Oakland, you could get out a pair of shorts and walk the dogs late into the evening (as long as the fog didn't roll in).

Once I moved to Michigan I really learned to appreciate June - by June Spring has usually sprung and then sprung away. The farmers market is starting to get the first real harvests in, all the geraniums that the little old ladies planted in May are blooming all over the place, and the grass is green - no matter which side of the fence you look on. And it means the beginning of an incredibly busy season of parties, hanging out with friends on the beach and generally soaking in every bit of sun, sand, water and fun that you can so that it can keep you warm all winter long.

So all things being equal, June should rock - and it did before my Dad died. June used to be a big month for our family, it was sort of an end of the season of celebration (all of our family's birthdays are over by June, so June was the last big deal till the holidays). It started off with Dad's birthday, going right on to my parent's anniversary and then rolling on to the big day, and always my Dad's favorite, Father's Day. When my brother-in-law came on the scene we celebrated his half-birthday in June (long story, but it makes June all the more fun) and when my nieces were born we had another dad to celebrate. June was a great month in our house and now it's just turned into the Trifecta of Crap-tastic-ness (a newly coined term, feel free to use it!).

As this June approached and Father's Day got closer I've been desperate to find a way to deal with today. Should I just hide out? Should I go out and celebrate with other dads? How can I make the day ok - still enjoy it as much as he did when he's not here. And then it occurred to me - baseball. I may not be able to celebrate with my Dad, but I sure can go do something he loved almost as much as Father's Day (well, probably more, the man did love baseball). So we're off to watch the Tigers take on the Brewers, we'll sit in the sun, eat hot dogs, drink beer, sing take me out to the ball game and maybe (if I'm really channeling Dad) I'll listen to the radio broadcast and score the game like he used to (but probably not, since it's kind of dorky and we used to make fun of him for doing it). Hopefully it will be a good day, we can be happy for the time we had with him and enjoy what he loved - Father's Day and baseball.

But could you all do me a favor? Hug a Dad for me today.

Current Music: Somewhere Over the Rainbow/What a Wonderful World - Israel Kamakawiwo'ole