Happy Father's Day Dad

As so many others, today I pay homage to my dad. To the best Dad I've ever had.

 I'm not sure between these two moments captured on film which one was the happier for my dad. I don't think I'll ever know since he died just a year after these photos were taken. What I do know is how much he loved Mom. (Notice the Chershire cat smile and adoration for her as Mom unwraps the only surprise for her under the Christmas tree -- she did all the shopping for the whole family.) Somehow he'd manged to keep this fisher boy night light a sealed secret that my mother cherished until it met with misfortune some twenty years after his death.

I get a kick out of this photo. You can see that Dad wore his hat every day, even in mid winter, thus the "farmer's tan."And the flannel shirt and overalls were his wardrobe staples providing him with the many pockets necessary for farm duties. (Mom made all of his shirts.)

This photo captures his utter surprise at finding much needed boots under the tree. If you can't tell, he isn't wearing any footwear that morning even though I seem to recall he'd already been out to tend cattle.