I’ve been meaning to publish something here for a day or two, but I’ve been struggling with what to write. As I am visiting my parents for the holiday weekend I thought I might write a bit about my family. Specifically – my dad, aka Big Guy.

For some reason today my dad decided to find an old army buddy. He gave me a 12 year-old Christmas card and said:

BG: “Here, find him for me.” (five second pause) “Did you find him yet?”
Me: “How do you want me to find him?”
BG: “Google him.”
Me: “Why don’t YOU Google him?”
BG: (walking away) “I’ve got stuff to do.”

My hubby sat on the couch and laughed. We eventually found the friend, my dad called him, and they caught up. Then my dad came back to the living room with a stack of letters he had written to his family while he served in Vietnam. Oh…my…goodness.

I always figured I got my writing skill and passion from my mom. She was a journalist. She really helped me with the first few articles I wrote (newspaper writing is SO different from novelling!). It just made sense that I caught the bug from Mom. However…I discovered today that my sarcastic style and dry wit are compliments of Big Guy. There is no doubt about that!

My dad addressed letters to “My Big Brother and Spouse” and signed off “All the love from the bottom of my wallet”. Big Guy told his family not to worry about him at war – he was, after all “too rich to die”. He also informed his correspondents that he’d be happy to continue sending them updates if they would send him a $50 subscription fee 🙂 (It’s no surprise that my dad retires this year after serving as CEO of a bank for 30 years).

I laughed myself into tears as he read the letters. My dad took a serious situation and put all the humor he could into it. I understand now how I was able to write funny essays while my husband received treatment for testicular cancer. It’s not that I wasn’t concerned about the situation…I just couldn’t help it.

I always enjoy these visits with my family. I get to learn a little bit more about the people who raised me. And my husband starts to understand why I do the things that I do 🙂