Dads I've Known

Forgive me, I'm about to reach new levels of cheesiness.  You know that song "Just the Two of Us" by Will Smith?  You know, the one where he sings about his first and apparently least talented child, Trey?  You know.  This one:

 

Well...it makes me tear up a little when I listen to it.  It's not just about my deep and inexplicable affinity for all things Will Smith.  (FACT: I know nearly all the words to "Gettin' Jiggy Wit It" - admittedly, there are still some rough spots.)  For one thing, I think it was incredibly brave for him to record a song about his kid when his contemporaries were singing about drugs and sex.  It was probably also very self-indulgent.  C'mon, we all know our kids are not nearly as interesting to anyone but ourselves.  But most of all, I like that he's singing about the things he feels he has a responsibility to teach as a parent - not all parents feel that they do.  I also like that he talks about the different aspects of being a dad.  And I think I like that especially because I can see bits of the men that I know and love who are dads in his lyrics.

My father-in-law is the big softie.  Always laid back, I've never seen him angry in the 10 or so years since I met him.  He was a teacher, so he knows all the tricks of the trade and how manipulative kids can be.  So I never had him figured for the big pushover that he is with his grandchildren.  Though perhaps I'm not giving him enough credit.  More likely, he knows perfectly well when they're trying it on, but he lets them get away with it anyway.  Because he can.  It might be the most decadent luxury a granddad can have.  He's also a camera buff.  He'll shoot anything - still-lifes, landscapes, portraits.  But it's such a treat to watch the care and pride with which he photographs his grandchildren.  He works hard to capture their individual personalities - quirks, foibles and all.  And the photos are perfect, because he loves his subjects.

My brother is the disciplinarian of sorts.  He can be tough on his kids, but I know it's because he wants them to be well-behaved, respectful and appreciative of what they have.  He wants to give them everything he had and more and he's aware that every holiday, birthday or special outing is a chance to make memories they'll have all their lives.  I especially love to watch him with his girls - when his softer side emerges and he lets himself be wrapped around little fingers.

I kind of think of my dad as the teacher - the one who's taught me "life's lessons."  It sounds cheesy, I know, but they're not necessarily lessons that I'm even cognizant of.  My dad always taught us that we could do anything we put our minds to and I think the result is that I don't often imagine that I can't do something.  The thought just doesn't really enter my mind.  It might sound a bit conceited, but it's not really about overconfidence, it's more like optimism and maybe a tiny bit of naivete.  He also never underestimated us.  It's a special thing to have that sort of faith in someone and I feel so privileged to have his love and trust so completely.  It's made such an impact on me that it's the one thing I really strive to give to T.

And then there's S.  I struggle to categorize him, he's only got 2 years of fatherhood under his belt so far.  In general, he's always liked to pretend that in place of a heart he's got a deep, dark, cold void in there.  But there have been several occasions since T's arrival where I have actually seen him beam with pride and swell with emotion.  Sometimes at the same time.  The thing is, with him, if you see it on the outside, it must be reaching stratospheric levels on the inside.  I worry that he might explode... But despite him playing tough, I know S feels that having T has been the most amazing thing that has ever happened to him.  He told me so, but he didn't need to...just look at this pic...

I always find it incredible that such little people can affect such big, strong men so acutely, so deeply, so completely.  Then again, I guess the men have to be up for falling in love...not that they ever stood a chance...

Happy Father's Day to all my guys.

In Review: Vejer de la Frontera, Spain

S and I love Spain - the food, the wine, the laid-back culture.  You add a bit of sand and sun and it's pretty much our idea of paradise.  And to top if off, S likes to claim a bit of Spanish heritage via me and T because we're exactly 1/8 and 1/16 Spanish respectively.  In fact, T was very nearly named Joaquin, but we chickened out!  So it wasn't really by accident that we found ourselves, along with some good friends and their little boy who is the same age as T, sipping sangria at a beachfront cafe in the southwest of Spain three weeks ago.

I'm sure it sounds like the ultimate in jetsetting to most of our American friends and family, but it's really just like going to Florida.  Slightly more exotic in that it's a totally different culture, but it's the same 2 1/2 hour flight from London and there's probably the same percentage of English vs. Spanish spoken as, say, Miami. 

Anyway, we stayed in a self-catered villa in a tiny village at the foot of a larger town on a hill called Vejer de la Frontera.  The villa was one of four casitas and a larger main house on an estate called El Sueno - or "The Dream."

We arrived a few weeks before the official high season began, so I'm going to give El Sueno the benefit of the doubt that they usually work out all the kinks before the crowds arrive.  They claim to be an ecological and environmentally friendly hacienda, but I was left feeling like it was just of the "turn the water off while brushing your teeth" and "shut off the lights when you're not in the room" variety.  Also, because we were out of season, the only direct flight we could get for our arrival date (the villas are rented out Saturday to Saturday) arrived in Spain at about 9:30am, but check-in at the villa wasn't until 3pm.  So we killed time by taking the 2 hour drive from Seville at a leisurely pace and stopping to buy groceries along the way.  Unfortunately, that meant we had to shop before we saw what was already at the villa, which meant not only did we waste money, but that there was also a lot of wastage in the way of household goods and food.  Either a comprehensive list of what's available at the villa, or an earlier check-in so that we could see what was provided before doing our shop - or both - would've been helpful.

But honestly, when you're enjoying a late dinner with a glass of local wine out on the patio, looking up at the white washed Vejer bathed in the day's last rays of sunlight, well, you can forgive the niggles.

Each day we worked our way through the local beaches and surrounding towns - not to mention restaurants.  The boys adapted so well - playing on the beach or in the garden at the villa, waving to the locals and even managing a prompted "hola" every now and again.

Highlights for me inlcuded the beach at Zahora, where we had the aforementioned waterfront sangria!  It was an especially kid friendly place and though we had no idea of the tides before we turned up, we were lucky to arrive around low tide, which meant sand bars, shallow waters galore and rock pools where boys big and small could hunt for crabs and other creepy crawlies.  Though one we would rather not have encountered was this guy!  YIKES!

Just beyond the restaurant/cafe were these great guest houses and cabins that we later learned were part of the Sajorami resort.  With plenty to do including water sports and horseback riding, it seemed like an ideal spot, though possibly not particularly toddler friendly.  If S and I were young and childless, I would definitely be planing a stay there.  Something to look forward to in our retirement?  <sigh>

Because we were with another couple, we were able to escape for two heavenly date nights.  Which brings me to my other highlight, this time of the adult variety - a drink on the roof terrace at La Casa del Califa.  Enter through a smart-looking hotel on the street level, through a door, down some stairs, through a restaurant and its garden area, up some more stairs, into a bar and then up another flight and you're there!  It was just an ordinary glass of white, but coupled with the warm evening, the spectacular view, the fearless swallows swooping and diving at impossible angles in the pink sunset and the white washed buildings and houses glowing all around us...well, it was worth all the stairs!  The subtle Moroccan touches, like the lanterns in the corners, make you feel as if you've been transported to another time and place and if we weren't hurrying off to get dinner before it got too late, well, we probably could've stayed there all night.

We loved introducing T to Spain.  Personally, I really appreciate the Spanish attitude towards children - they take them out with them, they show them off, they treat them like they matter, and in Spain, it's okay if children are heard as well as seen.  It definitely takes the pressure off any parents of toddlers! :)  There's so much of Spain, Europe, the world, even, that we haven't seen yet, that it's not likely we'll be heading back to this corner of Andalucia any time soon, but if you've never been before, I'd say, it's definitely worth the trip!

Viva la Espana!