Sweet Father’s Day 2012

Our family officially celebrated Father’s Day a week early, because that’s when our son was able to make the trek home from Connecticut. That meant that on the actual day, it was just my husband, “the Father,” and me, celebrating him as a great Dad.

I bought him a printer compatible with his iPad, which he loved, and then gifted him with a surprise excursion upstate New Hampshire which I had fully planned. We started the day with the present and a pot of coffee, which we enjoyed on the deck overlooking our garden – very “Martha Stewart”. We then “dubbed around” our land, picking weeds and flowers, and congratulating ourselves for all the beauty we’ve created. (That part is an almost daily ritual). Then we loaded up the kayaks and the car with supplies, and took off for the “surprise” trip to Squam Lake (“Golden Pond”), in Holderness, New Hampshire, munching on our “breakfast to go.” (He’d had a feeling it was probably Squam).

Unbeknownst to me, it was the last day of Motorcycle Week in Weirs Beach, which we had to go through to get to the lake, so the last leg of the journey was very interesting, complete with 200,000 bikers from all over, many of whom were Hells Angels. By the time we landed the kayaks it was 3:30, and as usual, most people were beginning to head home. That was just fine, as we had most of the giant lake to ourselves, as we often do on our trips, with our weird schedule. (We tooled all around France without reservations for two weeks in 1986 after a terrorist bombing, and never saw an American).

We paddled around for a few hours, admiring the stately summer homes and the mountains, as I watched my blissful husband, thinking, “these moments are precious, savor them, savor being with him, it’s not a given!”

We then left the lake and headed for Lago, a lakeside inn and restaurant at the northern point of Winnipesaukee. They serve drinks on the lawn at the water’s edge, where you sit in adirondack chairs, looking down the lake toward the mountains. It’s one of our favorite places, and we had it all to ourselves, because it was a Sunday night, and most (normal) people were already headed home. Then we had a lovely dinner at a table right by the window, watching the sunset.

It was the most perfect Father’s Day, and I kept thinking, “Why do we wait for special occasions to gift and acknowledge each other in this way? Why don’t we all appreciate each other like this every day?”

I hope you too had a lovely Father’s Day.

Susan Lager

P.S. To get a good sense of how strong your marriage is, and where it might need some tending, get a copy of my original Marital Wellness Evaluation on the “Products” page of this site.