Father's Day on a park bench....

Yes, this is a little late but like any father of a young child, I have had little time for anything but watching baby Riley. The phrase that I have come up with to describe parenthood is (in addition to my last phrase):

Beautifully unproductive.

To do lists be darned. Our schedule has one thing on it. Anything else that happens is a bonus. But it is time well spent. These days will never happen again. Everything on the to-do list will need to be done again next week or next month. But this day with Riley will never happen again. We are trying to savor every single moment.

Father's Day began down at our house in Maryland. I got to go fishing with my dad. A regular event each summer that I cherish. We only catch 5 inch perch - 8 inch if we get lucky - but we prepare each time out like we are going out for blue marlin. And you can't beat the company and the scenery. The rest of the day was spent like any good weekend at the Bay. Wiffle ball. Crab feast for lunch. Then we made our way back to a favorite local restaurant in PA to celebrate Father's Day with my dad. As soon as we sat down, Riley got fussy. Actually, truth be told, he was fussy for the 15 minutes leading up to sitting down as well. So to spare everyone in the restaurant from his ear-splitting cry, I took Riley outside for a little fresh air.

So we walked around and stopped in a little courtyard outside of the restaurant. Together, we looked at the flowers (he has discovered colors) and listened to the XM radio station playing the best of the 70's, 80's and 90's. All of a sudden, Riley started to smile. He not only smiled, he laughed. He was having a BALL. And it hit me. Maybe he just wanted a little time alone with his dad on Father's day. Of course, he may have just had gas or something but it was clear he was having a great time. So we sat outside, Riley with a smile on his face, me with tears in my eyes, savoring our first Father's Day together, just me and him.

It must have been obvious that I was a first time dad. As we sat there and as we went back into the restaurant (even dads have to eat some time), a number of people smiled at me and wished me a happy Father's Day. It WAS a happy Father's Day.

Thank you Riley. I love you buddy. Wanna go fishing?