What a Way to Spend the Day

Ryan, we're going on a boat today. We're meeting Papa and Grandma there.

We are? For how many days?

Just today.

Just today? How many pools does this boat have on it?

No pools Ry. It is a pontoon boat. Not a cruise ship.

(Last year, we met my parents in Miami for a Carnival cruise. We had a wonderful time and it was a great experience for the kids.)

******************************************************************
This past Sunday, we celebrated Father's Day a week late. For years, my dad has wanted to rent a pontoon boat and spend a day on a quiet lake with his family. We talked about it and tried to figure out how to rent a boat. We had never been to Atwood Lake and had no idea that pontoons were everywhere and it would be simple to rent them. My poor sister tried to do it via phone and online. The day started as a disaster. We were lost. Mapquest directions were awful. We were in the middle of nowhere and no one's cell phones worked. My husband's GPS on his Blackberry didn't even have a connection. We barely made it. Once we got there, we realized that this lake was HUGE and difficult to get around. Meeting up was going to be a challenge.

But once we made it, we realized that it would be a day we'd always remember. Even though the boat didn't have a pool.

Homemade is Hard

My husband told me not to buy him anything for Father's Day. Ugh! I had to really sort it out. Did he mean it? Really? He really meant it. When women say "Oh, don't buy me anything," they don't really mean it. My husband meant it. He didn't even want a card. Not even from the kids. We are keeping a strict budget right now. Every dollar is documented. He didn't want a card to take not even $3 or $4 from our "gifts" line on our budget.


This was a tough challenge. I didn't know where to go with it. No money. Where to start? Well, my first attempt was to clean out the garage for him as a gift. We have a garage that is so dirty I close it before anyone comes over. I am so embarrassed by it. I spent all Friday afternoon trying to clean it out the best I could. It isn't perfect. It was such a hot day that I ended up running out of steam so I skipped this idea.



So, I scrambled to come up with something meaningful but free. I framed a picture that my son drew at school of my hubby and my son playing basketball. It is my husband's favorite picture that my son has drawn. I knew he'd love that. The frame has a bunch of scratches on it. But, I had to use what I had around the house. It was hard to give him a gift with scratches. It is for his office. Oh well. I had to use what I had.


I then went and found two photos that I had taken last winter but never framed. You know how that goes. You spend tons of money on photos and you never get around to framing. The frames were brand new but never used. I had forgotten that I had them.



I then decided that if I made a little money instead of spending it, he would be surprised and happy. So, I listed something on EBay that I know will make a little chunk of change. That will help the bottom line instead of adding more costs. I made this one of his "gifts."


I then attempted to make a card for my husband. It was pretty sad. I used the kids' markers and white card stock. The kids kept bothering me the whole time I was trying to write something sweet and loving. It wasn't the most beautiful card. But, it was free and it said how I felt.



My point? It was not a perfect Father's Day gift. But, I followed his wishes. It would have been so much easier to buy him a video game, a shirt or some gadget. I am not one of those sweet people that can make beautiful cards and write something so meaningful it will bring a tear to his eyes. Father's Day was put together as fast as I could with what I had at my house in between a million questions and requests from my children. And the result was a happy daddy and a budget without any costs added to the line "gifts." Happy Father's Day Sweetie!