My dad was born 91 years ago today.
Yes, the day the stock market crashed.
Bill Buckley died suddenly at age 60 - (31 years ago) from heart issues.
It is so weird that he died from heart issues because he lead with his HEART!
In honor of Bill Buckley, I am going to:
-Eat a mini black and white cookie- when we were on vacation, he would let one of us come with him to do the laundry or go run errands...the treat was a black and white cookie. And if you were little Janie, you felt extra lucky because he did not like the chocolate part so the bonus half always landed on my plate!
-Tell some stupid jokes: What's 5 Q + 5Q?
-Help someone.#BeKind Our parents were always helping others. My father's legacy is that he taught us that love is love is love long before it became a "thing".
-Suggest that Brooklyn is the capital of the United States. (He truly believed that!)
-Share a few photos where you can see how much I look like him:
-Look for a lady bug- just one in an unusual place. He visits in the most unusual ways!
-Call my siblings to reminisce about the fun and funny things call my siblings to reminisce about the fun and funny things he did with us from scaring us when we went to get change from his pants pockets while he was sleeping to taking us bowling on Sundays (the divorced father thing to do in the 70s) where there were lots of gutter balls and perhaps a rogue bowling ball into another lane by one of his girls who will not be named...and ending the day at Friendly’s on Broadway in Massapequa or Howard Johnson’s where a huge orange soda was allowed to be ordered!
-Start a craft project- he loved making homemade things for us on our birthdays like taking a big applesauce glass jar, putting masking tape strips all over it in different angles, coloring it with shoe polish and then adding words, photos, phrases of things that reminded him of us. (Bill Buckley’s version of a vision board for his kids.) 🙂
-Think about the times at Lake Dunmore in Vermont where he would give the first one to spot the lake a prize or would splash and play with us for hours in the lake.
-Think about all the people he would meet along his path and how he always fought for the underdog.
-Share some stories with my kids.
-Remember he was very far from perfect but he did the best he could with tools he had.
-and most importantly, my mantra for this month is his favorite mantra:
“Don’t Sweat the Small Stuff”
JaneSEZ: My hope is that you can adopt some of these things too and honor my dad and create your own activities to honor the people in your life who have left an imprint on your heart.