Father's Day Rocked

I woke up this morning and immediately grinned as I heard Scout bellowing out Happy Birthday and getting sooshed by Hunter. The smell of coffee wafted into the room.

I dozed for awhile because this was part of their gift, letting Daddy "sleep in" until the late hour of 8:30. And it honestly felt later as I tossed & turned and tried to remain in bed while the family prepared breakfast and whatever else was in store. Hunter had been more excited about today than anyone, and it had become contagious.

He finally burst into the room with the breakfast tray and a hug, but didn't stay long since he needed to assist Zak with the gifts in the living room. Scout kept me company, and we shared a croissant and some breezy conversation about current events (i.e. the recent trip to the bakery).

After we finished picking croissant flakes out of the sheets, we stumbled into the living room for the grand unveiling of the gifts.

Hunter had made a decorative "stepping stone" at school, a baked disc of glazed dough with a largely symmetrical arrangement of glass "stones" on it's surface: green and purple, which Hunter had selected because he knew they were my favorite colors.

On the hearth lay an angular shape, covered by a quilt. As I lifted it, the first object that came to my attention was a T-shirt that read: "Better Brew For A Better World" on the front; and "I Brew Organic!" on the back. I blinked...and thanked them quizzically. Zak (patiently) directed my attention to the boxes beneath the shirt, the first of which contained a 5-gallon carboy.

The rest of the boxes, of course, contained the rest of the homebrewer's kit (plus a 7.5 gallon pot). Zak purchased this when she'd overheard me drop an idle thought about putting our warm garage to fermenting use. We'd never had the space in our prior homes to really entertain the hobby, but I had been thinking about it more recently.

Needless to say, I'm stunned... And very very happy.

Later in the morning, I was proud to watch how well Hunter performed at his first swimming lesson. He's been nervous in the pool and around bodies of water in general, so he and a friend have been enrolled in private lessons to get the acclimation process underway. He immediately clicked with the instructor, and I can tell that he's going to do well.

We polished off the day with an after-dinner walk to the ice cream shop.

This was, indisputably, my best Father's Day. Ever.

Zak, Hunter, Scout: I love you.