You can't spell "Father's Day" without "Sequoia..."

Yesterday was Father's Day and, no offense intended to my dad, I had never really paid attention to the holiday before. I mean you have 365 days a year to let your parents know how much you love them- certainly one made up holiday couldn't really be very important.

Well now that I have my little girl hanging around the house pretty much everything is being reevaluated and looked at from different angles.

Sequoia, Colleen and I had a very nice day together yesterday for my first Father's Day. Sequoia bought me a nice hat that cleverly uses a picture of a Sequoia Tree and the word "hugger" to get it's point across.

We hung out in the front yard for awhile, enjoying the nice weather and posing for some pictures to prove that I am sort of fond of my little shadow.

Knowing how much I enjoy reading and how badly I want to pass that love along to her, Sequoia also bought me two books to read ... they are both a bit advanced for her, but I like to occasionally mix in some real literature in with her Good Night Moon and Good Dog Carl. One book is about the first man to swim the English Channel. That sounds like an appropriate adventure story for Sequoia who is signed up to take swimming lessons next month.

She also bought me a pretty little ceramic picture frame for one of the above pictures to be framed in. It says "Me and my Daddy" on it. It is destined for my new desk in Deltaville.

She also treated me and Colleen to a very enjoyable lunch at the Crab Deck down at Gloucester Point. The weather was beautiful and the food delicious. We enjoyed the nice breeze, the boats coming and going and the casual atmosphere. Sequoia sat on my lap through the entire meal, well up until I needed both hands to eat my ear of corn.

We walked around the marina looking at the boats in the slips, the colorful sponges growing on the floats, the juvenile blue crabs on the pilings and schools of silversides swimming around trying to avoid the large sea nettles that were cruising around.

All in all it was a wonderfully simple and enjoyable Father's Day. I still believe that it is a made up holiday ... but one that has far more significance to me than I ever could have dreamed possible. The best gift Sequoia gave me, not counting her smiles and kisses, was this fun Butterfly Poem that she and mommy made at BabyGarten class. (you can read it if you click on it)

So a heartfelt thanks to my two wonderful girls for making my day so special. I am very lucky to have them both in my life.