We had a blue sky today

So we had blue sky today, so I thought I'd blip it for posterity.

To be honest today has been a bit bittersweet for me. The offspring were very kind with their cards and gifts and we had a lovely meal out to celebrate fathers day. Beth and I had a sweet run- a first for us to do this together. Oh and did I say we had blue sky today.

I've been mindful at the same time about my old dad and that's left me grateful and bit sad too. Matt - my middle child bought he and I some tickets to go and see a cricket game for a gift today - it reminded me of the time my dad took me to the test match. 27 years ago this week (give or take a week) I was doing my finals - it was Thursday morning with my final exam the following Wednesday. A knock on the door at 10am, and I answered to see my dad. "hello son, we're going to the test match" (for the unitiated amongst you test match cricket games last 5 days), "dad, I've got my finals next week", "son, if you don't know it now you never will" - so of we went to the cricket, spending the evenings chillin and eating curry (curry's were invented in the 1980s). After I calmed down - about lunch time day 2, we had a great time watching, cheering, snoozing, chatting, he even bought me a pint, as a teetotaller this was no small thing, we agreed that we'd go to the Headingley Test every year together. Do you know what - I even passed my finals without revising for that last week. 4 weeks later was the graduation, 7 weeks later I got married, 8 weeks later I started work as a doctor, 12 weeks later he got ill, 3months after that he passed on. We never got the chance to go to the test match together again. Apologies for the sad story, but I look on it as a happy and significant chapter in my life, and a reminder to seize the day, play for love, find any excuse for a celebration, smell the roses, eat chocolate, do something now that your tempting to put off - if its fun, then do it again, just live, and love and give wholeheartedly. Dad was like that, an outragesouly generous heart who lived life like it was precious and tomorrow wasn't a given.

On a not totally unrelated note, Dad knew only one of his grandchildren - that is my nephew Ian, he was the apple of his eye. Yesterday I got a phone call to inform me that Ian had become a dad himself for the first time, Elise Maya arrived safely in the world, she will be beautiful and loved and Ian will be a great dad I'm sure.

Couldn't find the picture of Dad and me that I wanted to post so ... a blue sky - did I mention that we had blue sky today?