Father's Day With Meagan

"I hope, at the end of the day, you go to bed with a smile on your face."

That was a comment left here Friday by Heather over at Fumbling For Words. I thought of her words more than once today. I was worried I might say something stupid and spoil the day for both Meagan and me. But Meagan is a relaxed sort of child. Usually, anyway. Spending time with her is easy.

I picked her up at home at 12:30. She was ready on time! After a quick stop to get her a cup of yogurt and fruit, we proceeded northwest to Mt. Forest to visit my mum and dad. The weather was cool and cloudy for the drive, but despite gloomy skies, not a drop of rain fell. The conversation flowed as the miles passed quickly beneath us.

Dan has been a good brother lately. Maxine has been good for him. She does not approve of drugs or alcohol. Dan craves her approval. I'm sure he craves drugs too, but so far, Maxine exerts a stronger influence. She lives with Dan now at Kelly's home. Maxine is seventeen. She goes everywhere Dan goes and claims she'll leave him if he returns to drugs.

"So Meagan," I asked as casually as I could. "Does Maxine sleep with Dan?"

Kelly is just foolish enough to allow encourage that. Honestly, Ms J. If brains were dynamite, the woman wouldn't have enough to blow her nose.

"Yeah, they sleep together, Dad. But Maxine's on the pill. She had a scare a couple of months ago and now she's on the pill. She's not taking any chances."

I breathed a quiet sigh of relief.

"Thank you, Meagan," I said. "I feel much better knowing that."

The boy inherited his mother's IQ.

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Dad's been busy trapping animals in his back garden. He and Mum have a vegetable garden. It's fenced to discourage local four-legged vandals, but still somehow, they manage to get in. So far, Dad's caught two raccoons and three groundhogs. Some people call them woodchucks. Groundhogs (or woodchucks) eat everything green. They normally feast on alfalfa and sweet clover, but they seem to fancy most things found in a vegetable garden.

Although these animals are fairly common here, I don't think Meagan had ever seen a groundhog up close. This little fellow wandered into Granddad's trap as we watched from Grandma's kitchen window.


A young one. Born this spring.

Dad catches the critters alive and takes each one out into the countryside where he releases it unharmed. Meagan quite enjoyed the process.


"Get out, you little bugger. Go on and find your mum."

A few years ago, Dad used a leg hold trap to catch a groundhog. He discovered the creature the next morning. It had tried to crawl out of its underground burrow and over the trap and the poor thing was caught quite securely by the testicles. Dad felt so bad about it, he vowed never again to use that type of trap. I was there when it happened, Ms J. And I must tell you, as a man, it was painful to look at! We couldn't get close to the animal to free him, so we had no choice but to kill it.

This cage-type trap is much more humane.


Dad and Scout watch as he scurries away unharmed.

So it was a good day, Ms J. Mum made a lovely dinner. My sister Helen dropped in to wish Dad a Happy Father's Day. The weather was cool but the sun shone in the afternoon. And I had a brilliant time with my daughter.


A chat before dinner.

I took Meagan home around 8:30. I met Maxine and I said hello to Dan. It was the first time I'd seen him since he left here three months ago. He's grown a beard and gained some weight. It was good to see my son again.

Heather's wish came true. It was a good day, Ms J. And I'm going to bed in a minute ... with a smile on my face.


Sometimes a woman, sometimes a little girl. I love her so much.

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