Happy Fathers' Day!

Last week was Fathers' Day, a national holiday celebrated and not celebrated in a wide variety of ways across the country.  While for Mothers' Day, the month before, most church congregations do something, Fathers' Day is more of a hit or miss kind of thing.  For Mothers'd Day, at the end of sacrament meeting, there's almost always some kind of remembrance.  Flowers, a small book of poetry, or some other small token of remembrance and gratitude.  However, its not unknown for Fathers' Day to pass with little more than a mention and brief comment over the pulpit.  That's has always been fine with me, I'm not complaining in the least here.  I don't miss the attention at all on those years when next to nothing happens. 

This year was a year that they (and by "they" I mean I'm not sure who came up the idea) asked all the guys to hang back after sacrament meeting and then the youth gave a can of root beer to all the adult males.  Fathers' Day (and Mothers' Day, for that matter) remembrances have become "safe" that way in recent years, something for every father or potential father, just in case. 

Anyway, I thought root beer was a pretty nice thing but I didn't want to just drink it right then and there.  I've sort of lost my taste for soda over the last several years and don't drink much of it any more.  However, I still appreciate a good root beer float.  So I took mine home and stuck it in the fridge.  Something else I got for Fathers' Day was a pear - I happen to really like a good pear and this one showed great signs of promise. 

But it wasn't quite ripe, which is a common aliment with store bought fruit.  So the pear went onto the window sill in the kitchen.  There it enjoyed the ripening benefit of the sun each day over the coming week.

So the week passed and each day I'd check the pear to see how it was coming along.  Each day it got a little riper, a little softer.  This was looking good.

Today I decided it was time to enjoy them both.  We had acquired some vanilla ice cream during the week.  It was a special purchase, normally ice cream at our house is a little more exciting than just plain, old vanilla.  So I got out my A&W mug, poured my A&W Root Beer in it, along with a couple of scoops of ice cream, and got about the yummy business of enjoying them both.

And they were good!  The pear was at the perfect stage of ripeness, so juicy it was almost messy to eat.  It was perfect.  And a good root beer float is good in any case.   I love how the ice cream makes the root beer all creamy and smooth.  Oh, it was so good.

All too soon, the pear and root beer float were gone.  But it was sure good reaching that point!

I wouldn't go so far as to call it idol worshiping, but I do have a wonderful reminder of the virtue of a good root beer float that I can't help but think upon at times like these.  The pear was courtesy of Maulbeere, the artwork the courtesy of Erdbeere, and the root beer float courtesy of some thoughtful people at church.  It was an excellent way to celebrate Fathers' Day, I thought.  I'd happily do it again, given the opportunity!