Sometimes dads are handy.
I've fought with my dad more frequently over the years than I should probably admit. Not too often, but every once in a while we have a good row. And I've managed to keep my temper under control fairly well over the past 5 or 6 years, mostly because my temper is scary. But he's the one person who can still get me riled up pretty easily. But really, he's a great guy. Always wanting to help other people. Often rather silly, but that's usually not a bad thing. He's been great this break. He talked mom and Vieve into helping clean up the basement so that it was actually usable when we came home. He got the outside lights done and was actually enthusiastic about our gift-wrapping marathon. He tends to enjoy things, which is something often lacking in my family. He's a happy guy. And since mom, Vieve, and 2 of my closest friends went back to school Monday, he's been trying to hang around some and make sure I have fun things to do. Which has actually been pretty necessary and greatly appreciated this week. I've got things I need to do (and am working on), but it was nice Monday to spend a few hours watching football and playing cribbage. He beat me the first 2, so we decided to play a 3rd and make it best 3 out of 5. I won the next 3. And tonight mostly my mom and sister just watched TV after they got home from school, but dad made dinner, and then when he got home from the office we played 4 games of backgammon while he watched the last half of the football game. He stomped me in 3 of them, but it was still rather fun. And it's nice to have some human interaction. With all the vehicles gone and no one at home during the day, it can get a bit lonesome. I think I've come to rely on the presence of other people more than I did in the past. Or maybe I wasn't quite as much of a loner as I always thought. So while I'm still looking forward to getting back to Pittsburgh, dad's definitely made things better than they could easily be. Hmm . . . perhaps I should actually tell him this at some point.