This week is one of my least favorite weeks of the year. I detest the week before Father's Day. Not because I don't enjoy celebrating my bibbed wonder but because he makes celebrating him so damn difficult. I have been pestering him for weeks to give The Bean ideas for what to get him. Most of the time, he offers up some little idea, some nugget of insight. This year, he's given me nothing...nothing. I always find this week to be frustrating, stressful, and challenging. Sigh.
The Bibbed Wonder reminds me of my dad in many good ways. He is hard-working, he can do anything, and he is intelligent. These are all characteristics I love. However, like my dad, he is impossible to shop for, making gift-giving impossible. What does one get for someone who has everything and wants for nothing? He already has every tool developed by the modern world. He has no real hobbies. He obviously doesn't like clothes. He won't go out to eat because he is still singing, "COOOOOOOVVVVVVVVVVVIIIIIIIIIIDDDDDDDDDD!"
When The Bean was small, her go-to gift ideas for her dad always involved Duck Dynasty. The Bibbed Wonder used to watch Duck Dynasty when he worked away and nights in the hotel were long. He found it entertaining but was not what I would call a fan. For whatever reason, my bean took that little tidbit of information and hung on to it like a dog with a bone. You have no idea how many times I saved that man from an Uncle Sy t-shirt. However, I could not protect him from an Uncle Sy Christmas ornament, bottle opener, coffee mug, or fuzzy polyester blanket, but he never had to wear an Uncle Sy t-shirt under his bibs.
That is one of the many reasons he deserves to be celebrated. Not because he has an affinity for lousy reality t.v. But because it doesn't matter how ridiculous it is, he will treasure it if The Bean gets it for him. He would walk through fire and back for that child and think nothing of it. It is simply what he does and who he is. He has a wall above his desk in the garage that is like an art gallery of all the works The Bean has created just for him. His favorite piece is a plaster of paris sculpture titled Jack, My Cat. Not only was it made with great care and love by The Bean's adorable little hands, but it also demonstrates her matter-of-fact and unique speech pattern. He treasures that child, and that is one of the reasons I adore that man.
However, back to this year and my lack of ideas for an appropriate gift for him. Things he wants: a hay rake. Things I can get for him: not a hay rake. First of all, they are somewhere in the ballpark of $10,000. That is not exactly what my bean has to work with unless she dips into her college fund. Secondly, I have no idea where to begin. I looked. It is like a foreign language. I'm sure I would get it wrong if I did get it. Lastly, if he wants it, he buys it for himself. I see tabs up on the computer of different companies selling farm equipment. When he finds the one he wants, I am sure he will discuss it with me and make a deal on his own. No, this year, I may not be able to keep him safe from a cheesy slogan t-shirt. I do know, whatever The Bean decides upon, he will cherish it. However, I will spend the remainder of the week wracking my brain over what to do to make this bib overall wearing wonder buns feel special. Sigh.
In the meantime, dear reader, stay safe, be smart; if you have any great ideas, please share, and of course, keep washing your hands.