My Dad. Pensacola Blue Wahoos' Baseball game. Date not remembered. Photo by The Pensacola Hippie.
When I was a little girl, my mother always said that " Sarah is " Dan { my Dad} without a mustache. While it is true that we definitely resemble each other { I hardly look like I'm related to Mom at all}, I've noticed that some of my personality traits have either amplified or changed to be more like my Dad.
It is true, Dad and I do resemble each other. We have the same eyes, nose { those his nose have been broken more than once so our noses look different now-- but I have his original nose}nd mouth. We share the same dimple in the righthand corner of our mouths. We both have long fingers and toes.
Dad taught me how to dribble a basketball and to kick and toss a football. He taught me the intricate details of both sports. He and our Mom instilled an early love of reading in both my younger brother and me by reading to & with us before bedtime. He taught us to ' clean our plates" at mealtimes.
As one of six children from an Irish-American Catholic family, Dad values time with loved ones over money spent on material things. I have many fond memories of Sunday suppers birthdays and holidays hanging out with Dad's parents , siblings their spouses & { eventually} my younger cousins. From him I learned the importance of " famiily" be it blood relatives or family-of-choice. Family meant love, and to love someone fully is to accept them as they are-- faults and all. He isn't perfect, and never expected perfection from me nor my brother. He did however, expect us to put 100 percent into all we did.
Both my brother and I are Pittsburgh sports' fans to the core. No mater how poorly our teams perform, you can count on we three McCarrens { Dad, My brother, and myself} to cheer them on from Florida. To be honest, it has been hard being Steeler fans during these past few seasons but Dad taught us perseverance in all things. This trait of not quitting on anyone or anything is practiced well as Steeler fans.
Persevere. Persevere. Persevere.
It could be worse. We could be Cleveland Bowns or Detroit Tigers' fans !
To be honest, the only thing Dad failed at is teaching me to love mathematics. Many yelling matches & tears were shed over my math homework from early school all through high school. Dad is one of those rare people who is gited at math and is quite an accomplished wordsmith. Try as I might-- math does not come easy for me like it does for him. Not long ago we were having a discussion about paying off our house, and I had to remind him that the math required to figure out how much money we still owe the bank is way beyond my pay grade. { My math "pay grade ' is very low & I am fine with this weakness}
Dad doesn't practice any sort of organized religion for personal reasons that are not mine to reveal. However, almost every day since he relocated to the Florida Gulf Coast, he's spent part of his morning walking the same portion{ Dad and I both are fond of routine and are uncomfortable with big changes}of Navarre Beach. While walking, Dad picks up the litter that other beach attendees leave behind. He takes a bucket with him, and faithfully declutters ' his" mile of beach every morning. He says " The beach is my Cathedral." Since Brian and I spend a lot of time at the water's edge, I totally understand why Dad feels that the Gulf beaches are holy ground.:
When m nephew and niece come, we enjoy the Cathedral as a family. At our wedding weekend, several of my relatives met Dad at " his" beach to walk the mile and watch the November sunrise.
Navarre Beach {a.ka. Dan's Cathedral} sunrise. Photo by The Pensacola Hippie
Ghost crab . Photo by The Pensacola Hippie.
Both my parents don't eat beef, pork, turkey , or chicken, and as I've gotten older, I've seen then reap the benefits of a meat-free diet. I'm married to a Southern carnivore, so our house will never be a TOTALY vegetarian home, but Brian and I are doing our best to eat less animal flesh. I'm a lot happier when I manage a meat-free day, but training Brian's palate isn't as easy.
As I age, I realize that I care deeply about many of my Dad's social justice passions. For instance, I recently started a practice of clening up a portion of the waterfront when Brian and I go out to enjoy Nature .
Beach Hippie , wearing her mask. Photo by Brian.
The COVID19 -related forced retreat from the Gulf's white sand and green-blue water has given me a new appreciation for the part of the world that I call home. Brian and I do not live as close to the beach as my parents do-- but we get there as we can.
As I inch towards midde-middle age, I am PROUD to be My Father's Daughter.
Cheers!
Sarah
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