I Don’t Think My Dad Was A Kid

Growing up with my Dad

It’s funny how perceptions are when you’re a little kid. I swear I was 10 years old when it finally dawned on me that my dad was a kid before he was a man! OMG, the revelations you make as you grow.

It was his bigger-than-life persona that kept me thinking he was born an adult. I’m not sure when it happened, but I remember my utter amazement with the realization of it. Not that I’m a little slow-witted, but I don’t always pay attention to the details.

In our family, I was the 2nd youngest of 7. Next to me was my ever faithful and reliable twin. We spoke about everything, always. She took great pleasure in my propensity to be one of the most gullible people known to mankind. My dad loved my attribute, too.

We were 4 when he was shaving in the mirror one day and caught our eyes as we watched him. I’m guessing he was not quite 30. His eyes twinkled as he looked at us and said, “You know how you’re twins, right?”

In unison, we replied, “Yes, Daddy.”

“Well, because there are two of you. You both have part of my wit.”

Again, we replied, “Yes”

“So now go tell your Mommy that you both have half of my wit.”

Yes, sir, we were so happy. I heard him roar with laughter, as two little blond head girls raced through the house. Yelling to our mom that we were now two halfwits because our dad said we each had half of his wit. Man, we were proud.

I believe that was the last time my twin ever fell for anything that she hadn’t previously investigated. New words were looked up in a dictionary. Everything was unsubstantiated with the solid word of her resources.

I didn’t mull things over, much. It was more a lack of interest, in my case. I didn’t stop to pay attention. I didn’t think things through. I realized early in life that my twin would tell me the answers.

She was so competitive and proud of her intellect. I was competent, but I was a free spirit. If she provided the answers, why would I bother to try?

Yeah, she told me unbelievable things. I didn’t believe it all, but I did believe more than I should’ve. She even convinced me that boys had periods. I’m still embarrassed about that! I know I shouldn’t be, but I trusted her.

She can definitely pull the wool over my eyes.

The man I never knew

Yes, my dad was bigger than life. Hailing from jolly old England, he was tall, dark, and handsome. A cop who flew planes. Played the guitar and sang. Recorded his music and wrote songs. He made some records. Writing travel articles for a newspaper. Developed his own photographs. He was funny. Travel was a wonderful hobby of his. I was in awe of him. I was also terrified of him. He had a temper, so I kept my distance. If I erred, I always got caught.

My dad grew up in the days of WWII in Coventry, England. The city had a massive bombing. They came to Canada by ship when he was about 5 or 6, before the end of the war. Rarely did he speak of his upbringing.

All I ever heard of their crossing was how he played soccer onboard with his older brother. At some point, he kicked a shoe overboard into the Atlantic Ocean. Only my aunt had extra shoes. My dad got my uncle’s shoes and my uncle had to wear their sister’s extra shoes.

Crazy times. That was about the only time I ever heard him talk about his childhood. It was a pretty tough time. My Grampa was pretty brutal with the discipline he meted out to the boys in the family. That would be another reason my dad wouldn’t talk about things.

Too late now

It’s too bad, I would’ve enjoyed knowing my Dad and understanding him more. He passed away when he was 63.

I love when these little thoughts come back to remind me of my childhood days. It cracks me up how I wouldn’t think my dad had to be a child before he was an adult! I mean, I knew everyone else in the world had been children first.

For some reason, I didn’t think my Dad had been one.

Thank you for reading.