Diversion
A memory short, silly, and beloved
I. Portraits
I have two daughters. I know I have mentioned this before. Rest assured I will mention it again. My oldest daughter is twenty four. My youngest is nineteen.
They are adults now, but that has not altered anything in my perception of them.
I am a friend and father to both, although I don’t often think of myself in either of those terms. Labels tend to make me uneasy.
If you forced me to assign a name to the role that feels most familiar to me, then I suppose I might choose the name shepherd. I guide and guard, as best I can. My daughters are not sheep, of course. Far from it. So the term shepherd is good, but less than ideal.
They are wondrous souls.
Can I invent a term for my role?
If you’ll allow it, then I’ll name myself a soulherd. I quite like the imperfection in that.
I admire my daughters immensely. I always have. They are exceptionally bright young women. Perceptive and prone to insight, in layers that run deep and span wide.
Both are blessed with a wit that is sharp and wickedly funny.
II. Pictures
I remember once, when one of the girls was about five years old, she and I were in the car together, playing a game with words. We played many such games, most of which had no name. This particular game often began with the phrase, “Wouldn’t it be funny if...”
Stacking silly pictures in our imaginations was (and still is) a delightful way to pass the time.
She said, “Wouldn’t it be funny if there was a drive-through restaurant that served hot coffee on dinner plates?”
It made me laugh.
“The restaurant could be named Careful, It’s Hot.”
I still love the reel of pictures this evoked.
The barista is a pretty, young woman with blonde hair pulled back into a neat and perfect pony tail. She leans out the window of the drive-through, holding in her hands a large dinner plate, carefully balanced, steaming with hot coffee. Slowly and delicately, she passes it to a man who is leaning awkwardly out the window of his car to accept it. She admonishes him with great care and kindness: “Careful. It’s hot.”
Perfectly on-brand, of course.
If you don’t find the image terribly funny, then you’re probably normal, I guess. If you find it anywhere near as funny as I do... then you are most welcome.