While I know tomorrow is Father’s Day, I want to take time today to tell you about the man I call my dad, Warren “Bud” “Tom” Breese. Depending on who you are and when you met him, you know him by one of those names. Other than his given name, there are stories for the other ones. With my dad, there are always stories! (We used to tease him that he was like the governor from the TV Show Benson. He had a story for every situation.)
He is called Bud, because when he was a kid, they called him Buddy. I guess it stuck and was shortened to Bud as he grew up. The only person who really calls him Tom, is my husband, Bobby. The reason he does this is because my dad told him to. You see when I was a kid, we watched a movie with Henry Winkler. He played a flamboyant wrestler who fell in love with a “girl next door” type. Her parents were really uptight–or at least her dad was. When she took her new husband, the wrestler, home to meet them, he walked in and said, “Mom! Dad!” The father said, “You can call me Tom.” The wrestler then responded, “Mom and Tom!” That stuck with my dad, so that is why he said Bobby could call him Tom. So there would be a “Mom and Tom.” Every card he signs for Bobby is signed with “Tom.”
Speaking of movies (do I sound like my dad or what!), that is something my dad and I have in common, we both love movies. (Don’t believe, check out my post from my birthday week here.) He started a tradition in the mid eighties of going to the movies all day on his birthday. It started as a family event, but after a few years it was just Dad and me at the theater. I really haven’t met anyone who has the stamina that Dad and I have when we sit in front of the big screen. We used to get strange looks from the cashiers when we would walk out one door of the theater only to come in another door and get back in line for another movie. However, I think things have changed and more people do multiple movies in a day.
I love my dad. I have always thought of myself as a daddy’s girl. When I was a kid I cherished the time I had to spend with my dad. That hasn’t changed now that I am (yikes!) middle age. We won’t be spending the day at the movies for Father’s day–it is a birthday tradition–but I thought this was a great time to share it with my readers. Remember to tell your dad how much you love and appreciate him tomorrow.
Do you have traditions that you do (or did) with your dad? I’d love to hear about them. Please leave them in the comments below.
Thanks, Aunt Pam! I agree, Mom and Dad complement each other perfectly.