A Nice Little Cuff

The crisp bite of Aqua-Velva always smelled good to me when I was a kid. I can remember my dad putting it on after his shower before he would go to work.  Sometimes I would sneak a little bit out of the bottle when I went to the bathroom.  I liked smelling like my dad.  He worked a shipping dock in the evening loading and unloading trucks.  I don't think he liked that job very much.

After he was dressed, he would come and sit on the couch and talk to us while he put on his socks and shoes. They were cheap, white Spalding sneakers from Walmart.  But I didn't care.  I wanted a pair just like them.  I loved those shoes because I loved my dad.  He always wore shorts to work since it got so hot on those loading docks.  I don't think he liked that job very much.  He would turn his tube socks down to make a nice little cuff.  I used to wear my socks the same way.

He would fix some supper for my brother, sister and me before he left.  It was often macaroni & cheese and these little chicken fried steak patties.  My dad used to make the best macaroni and cheese.  It came out of this generic white box whose bold black letters told the world it was simply Macaroni and Cheese.  My dad didn't make a lot money.  I don't think he liked that job very much.  But I sure did like that macaroni and cheese he made for us.  I make it for my own kids now.

*     *     *

I really don't think my dad liked that job very much.  But he did it anyway.  Maybe he disliked having cheap aftershave and sneakers too.  But he had them anyway.  Maybe he couldn't stand that he had to make the generic macaroni and cheese.  Be he made it anyway.  And he did part of it for us. 

So often I get caught up in the things of life.  I worry about the tangibles instead of the intangibles.  I worry too much about the stuff and too little about the people. 

I loved my dad because of who he was, and not because of what he had.  When I was young, I just wanted him.  I need to remember my kids are the same way.  It's easy to give things.  It's a lot harder to give yourself.