Stepping into Father’s Day.

I spent the afternoon in Keera’s class again today, this time it was for the Father’s Day celebration. A while ago, we got a sheet from her teacher telling us about a Mother’s Day and Father’s Day celebration. It said that the mom could take the dads place and vice versa. If neither of the parents could make it, our child would be paired up with another parent and their kid. I attended the Mother’s Day one, and stepped up to go to the Father’s Day one today. I was pleasantly surprised with the amount of dads that showed up, it’s not often you get to meet “the other half”. Once we got there, there was a lot of awkward standing around. Most of the men talked to each other introducing themselves, since a lot their wives are friends. We had all brought something for the snack, sundaes! Once the teacher got the students silent, she explained what we were going to do for afternoon. I knew what to expect since I was there just a few short weeks ago. We started off with individual story time, Keera grabbed a bunch of books and snuggled up to me while she read. Once reading time was over the teacher told us she had a bunch of supplies, and it was up to us to build something with our child. Sounds right up the alley for most dads, but between the supplies and all the students there wasn’t much we could make. A lot of the dads suggested they make birdhouses, and another dad suggested he make a chefs hat with a mustache which was a neat idea when it was finished being made.

Keera wanted to make a boat, I’m not very good at crafts. I’m better at other things I promise! LOL. So she grabbed what was left of the stuff, and we started on creating her boat. She insisted that it be built a certain way, which was okay by me. Finally we were done, and the teacher told the students to wash up their hands and get in line for ice cream. Keera insisted that I stand in line with her, but I told her I’d be better off waiting near a table. The teacher along with the teacher’s aide started off, by giving the students each two scoops of vanilla ice cream.

Then they had the choice of chocolate, strawberry or caramel sauce, and sprinkles. I’m not meaning to brag here, but out of all the students each child only took one spoon… except for Keera. Keera grabbed two spoons, and when she came to sit down next to me she handed me a spoon. I wasn’t expecting it I never asked her to grab me one, but I was surprised that she was the only one that thought about doing that. It was heartwarming how she wasn’t just thinking of herself, she thought about me too. After all the kids got their ice cream and sauce, one of the dads remembered he brought a huge container of blueberries for the sundaes. All of the students raced back in line to get some blueberries, not that I blame them blueberries are delicious! After all the kids sat down to eat their ice cream, the teacher said it was now the parents turn to go and get a bowl. I convinced Keera to come up with me, and help me pick out the toppings, she told me to load it up with sauce, berries and make sure to add some sprinkles. What is it with kids and sprinkles!?!? We finished up grabbing our sundaes, and went to sit down to share our ice cream. I remembered thinking this would be a perfect time for something to drink. It was almost as if Keera’s teacher could hear my thoughts, she announced she brought some of her homemade lemonade for us to drink. I can’t even describe how delicious her lemonade is, it’s extremely good.

 

Everyone just finished up their sundaes and lemonade, then decided to sit around and chat to each other. Since there’s such an age gap, I wasn’t really involved in the conversation. I was happy to peek around the class, looking at the new pictures up on the wall and in Keera’s bin. The kids played around until it was time for us to get ready to go. I’m grateful that I was able to go and spend the afternoon with Keera. Even though I was one of the few moms there, how could I miss out on an opportunity to see her smile that much? These are the moments I cherish.

What did you or your family do for Father’s Day?