An Early Happy Father's Day!

Although Father's Day isn't till Sunday, I wanted to do something a little extra special for my Dad this year.  The cards and presents were left in St. Louis for him before I returned to France, but I realized the other day that I haven't written much about my Dad here.  I got out the old pictures I've brought to France with me and had fun choosing favorites to share. 

I've always been a Daddy's girl. How can you help but be when as a daughter, you are named after your Dad.  With the spelling of my name, I spent a lot of my adult life saying: "Larry is my Dad...I'm Laury!"

I had Mom and Dad all to myself until Jim arrived a month before my second birthday.  Not much one on one quality time after that. Maybe that's why some of my fondest memories of Dad (both of my parents for that matter) are the memories that only he and I shared together!  I still remember going to the  Father-Daughter Girl Scout Banquet when I was nine.  My tall, handsome Daddy in his work suit and me in my beanied, funky, forest green girl scout outfit with my only merit badge for embroidery.  His hands will always feel huge and safe to me no matter how old I am.  And then, when I received my Master's Degree in Social Work from Tulane University, he came to graduation in New Orleans early.  We went to see Pete Maravich play basketball for the then New Orleans Jazz together, and yes, we actually went to see "Looking for Mr. Goodbar"! I discovered my love of stamp collecting, collage, baseball, and New Orleans from my Dad!  I didn't know too many girls who had baseball scrapbooks with the autographs of Julian Javier, Steve Carlton, Bob Euker and Tracy Stallard in them. 

So these days, I'm still grateful for the one on one time we are able to find.  It may be when I'm visiting and Mom goes to the store, or when I call and Mom is out in the yard; but these times are just as special to me as those banquets and graduations were. Dad and I frequently had those one on one quality conversations when I would call from New Orleans in tears.  He knows how much I love New Orleans.  He knew how hard everything was for me there after the levees broke.  And then on one of those calls he said to me: "Go to France Laury.  Just go to France."  It wasn't as if I wasn't already feeling like that was the best thing for me.  But, there's something about hearing those words out of your Dad's mouth, that give the pondered action even more weight!

So Happy Happy Father's Day to my Daddy in St. Louis.  I'll always love you and look forward to those one on one stolen moments in St. Louis or on the phone.  I wish I could just fold you up and put you in my suitcase so you could come and see my joy, my heaven, and the power of you and your words in my life!  Love Always-Laury

When I was looking at the photo of Dad and I in the mirror on my first Christmas in England, my eyes strayed to the mantel.  Along with the Christmas cards, I saw a tiny, familiar, Hummel, that now lives here in my piano room in France! She has a place of honor next to one of my favorite photos of Nannie as a young girl.  That tiny hummel angel who is conducting those birds to sing so beautifully, beside my Nannie, has by now been all over the world with me!  Never in a milion years did I think...and, here we are!

Comments

[Laury Bourgeois]

I did a little "leaking" of my own while I was writing. I think the scrapbook is actually in Dad's "baseball room" upstairs in St. Louis. And, I loved Pistol Pete Maravich! That terrace list gets longer and longer by the minute...can't wait!

[Evelyn Jackson]

Oh Laury...your tribute to your dad made me all teary. As the Grinch would say..."I feel all toasty inside and I'm leaking" We'll have to share dad stories on the terrace. And I can't believe you saw Pistol Pete play basketball and you have Bob Euker's autograph! What a great dad!