My Friend is many things

He was not my Dad, but he was like one to many of us.

Although he often behaved like a kid because he was so full of life.

He made you think. That Ah-ha moment. And often he would make you laugh,

just because he was not afraid to be silly.

The most important thing he taught me however came at a time when I was trying so hard to be a grown-up, and I felt like a little girl. I had children of my own but I was all alone, and I was scared. Every decision was so important and I wanted desperately to get it right.

It was Christmas and I was poor. There were few presents under the tree and some of them were socks. I would see him towards the end of that month and then not for a very long time. I expected to be sad.

Surprisingly there was a package for me to open.

It was the Polar Express. “What a wonderful gift. A reminder of ones childhood”, Did you read this to your kids? I asked.

“I still do”.he replied.

He could see my face was lost. His children were older than mine.

“I read them to sleep all the time he said. Even my son who is 20.

It is our time together and no one can take that away from us.”

It took me a moment before I believed him..

I went right home and sat my girls against their pillows and read that book from cover to cover. Each year I did the same and with more books than that.

I read to them still and they read out loud to me.

It is something no one can ever take away.

Even if we are poor.

My friend is a great many things as a Dad and I am sure his children celebrate this with him on all the days before and after Fathers Day. He should know at least this year, that he gave my family a tradition that we treasure. One that we will pass on to another generation.And that we think of him tucking his children in with a story, and it gives us great comfort that he passed that onto us.

Happy Fathers Day.

You can't always judge a book by it's cover.

My Dog Molly is a mush. If she wasn't so large she would be the ultimate lap dog. She may look aloof , but that's a bold face lie. Sorry Molly the gig is up.

When Molly arrived 13 years ago she was your typical 8 week old pup. She allowed us to hold her the very first night but from then on she spent endless amounts of time trying to escape our affections. Samoids are escape artists and Molly refused to be contained. She bit threw fences, jumped the gates, ran from walking on a lead, and generally just maintained her independence. For a long time I wasn't sure she even liked us. Then the truth came out.

Now Molly is our resident love sponge who refuses to allow you to pass without a smooch or a nudge. She is patient and rather un-demanding. She is loyal and friendly. Molly is the perfect pet.

It took me a very long time to realize that I had a lot of Molly's in my life. Mostly people, but nevertheless individuals that appeared to be one thing on the outside and really were quite opposite on the inside. Books with deceptive covers and here is how I found them out.

Recently my Godson was going thru a bit of a difficult time. College graduation came and went in his life and the next logical steps just didn't. One turn of events went south after another and before long his mother, my childhood best friend, was calling me for support. This friend is a lot like Molly. A stunning woman with silver grey hair and a body to die for. Put this gal in a pair of skinny jeans and she is a runner up for the housewives of Nassau County. Too bad she doesn't know it, but her shyness often comes off as aloof so you might think she does. I just know her as the humble and smart friend who shared my growing pains and remembers every significant event in my life. So here she is on the other end of the phone in pain. Wanting to help her son, yet feeling like she is doing everything wrong. For the first time in my life I threw out the rule book and treated her as I know her,not as she appeared. Love is a very strong tool and it helped.

Of course what goes around comes around and soon she was able to help me too.

This led to the next person in my life that appeared to be unapproachable and I tried the same technique. I loved them until the truth bleed out and well you guessed it. They loved me back.

Pretty cool.

This Easter I will be going to church.

The music will probably bring me to tears, the prayers will give me comfort. Most of all it will be in the true spirit of Easter. I will rejoyce, because i finally get it. Love comes in many book covers. They don't always look inviting. The insides are usually the tellers.

I always said I was a late bloomer, and everyone knows how now i LOVE my books.

Happy Easter everyone!