Father's Day, Pig-N-Pancake and the Gospel According To Carrie Underwood

Father's Day kind of came and went without a lot of fanfare this year. My dad has been gone for 26 years and the kids' dad was out of the country. I got Kelvin a nifty wood tie and thought about my dad, and that was pretty much the extent of it.

Now, two weeks and a couple days later, I'm at the beach and life has slowed down enough to let my mind wander a bit. I didn't really expect inspiration to strike at Pig-N-Pancake but, hey, turns out my muse has a fondness for that fat little piggy. 

And there it was . . . 

 about half way down the column under the various pancake options . . . .

Potato Pancakes. 

My dad loved potato pancakes.

I think I remember him saying it was from his time in NYC during WWII. But that could be a mixed up childhood tale. At any rate, we were always happy to see Mom grating potatoes on the random Sunday mornings she decided to make them; but none more so than Dad. We ate them with sour cream and homemade applesauce and lots of gusto. Exactly like the above picture.

So I'm sitting in the place I love most (that would be Seaside, not Pig-N-Pancake) and wondering how Dad might have felt about the ocean. We rarely  got to the beach  when I was a kid and I have no real memory of how it might or might not have moved him. I know he spent some time in southern California, but don't know if that included any beach time. But given Dad's appreciation for majestic mountains I know almost for certain that he must have loved the ocean too. 

I thought about the lyrics in Lee Ann Womack's song ''I Hope You Dance' . . . 

"I hope you still feel small when you stand beside the ocean" . . .

and instinctively know Dad would have seen the ocean that way. 

He loved nature and saw his God in it - as I have grown to.

And he heard God in music. I know this. I remember watching him listen to dramatic organ music, soaring violin solos, beautiful vocal harmonies . . . and I would see him close his eyes and get lost in it. And I know where he went. I go there regularly these days. 

My higher power and spiritual path bears almost zero resemblance to Dad's. I'm not entirely sure we could ever have shared a conversation on this earth about those differences. 

But just at this moment I'm watching the sun drop into the ocean. 

I pause and give thanks to whatever it is that has brought me to this moment and the beauty I get to witness. 

And I can smile knowing Dad would do the exact same thing. 

Which makes me wonder if our paths were really that different after all.

Just different names for the same thing.

So why all the fuss?

One of Dad's favorite hymns was "How Great Thou Art".  

How I wish he could have lived to hear Carrie Underwood shred that song.

He had little use for the entertainment industry and I know he would have winced at Carrie's short dress, make-up and jewelry.

But now he's in a place where I'm pretty sure none of that matters. So, here ya go, Dad.

And while you're at it -

I hope you dance.

PS Thank you Taylor Scribner and Jesse Mendez for help with the pictures!