my dad, Robert List, from the early 2000s
updated a bit 6/10/23 from the original post from 2014 to add seo and formatting as well as to repurpose the post since I put together a new post that collects Father’s Day designs. Again updated 9/28/23 with rewriting, retitling, and basic fixes.
Father's Day is always an important day for me
While Father’s Day has long been both an important day for me and a milestone of sorts, Father’s Day, 2014 was an especially tough day for me. Within the 7 months prior, we lost both my dad and my stepdad.
I’d say that of the 3 of us, my brother, my sister, and I, it might have hit me a little differently since I’d spent quite a bit more time with my dad than my siblings had. My parents divorced when I was entering adolescence and I spent most of my teenage years living with my dad.
I also lived with him for a while after college, as I’d made an abrupt turn away from my college degrees to try my hand at sculpting ice. I can’t say that he was thrilled at my choices, but he let me make my own mistakes, didn’t judge too much, and was ready to help if I really needed it. For a long time, it was just the two of us, as my younger brother and sister had stayed with my mom and stepdad, and my dad had divorced for the second time.
Fortunately for my siblings and me, my stepdad also was a pretty awesome man and I would have been proud to call him Dad if my father was somehow not in the picture. My stepdad and mom stayed married until his death.
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I appreciate how fortunate I was
I was lucky to be blessed with two great examples of how to act as a man and make my way in this life. I’m not sure that I will ever feel like I measure up to their examples, but Father’s Day is always a reminder to me that I keep trying and always recall what they did for me to enable me to be where I am now. And of course, I will always love them and always remember them!
As for myself, I was a stepdad for quite a while, and it certainly changed my perspective as to how difficult it is to be a parent. As a child, I always assumed that adults had all the answers. That, of course, turned out to be a very bad assumption. And it helped me understand the times that I might not have totally agreed with my dad and stepdad.
my stepdad, Oscar Lackey, in his official Navy photo
Father's Day and ice sculpting
Hopefully for you, Father’s Day isn’t so much a day of remembrance as it is appreciation for your dad(s). Unfortunately, it’s certainly not the popular brunch day that Mother’s Day is. In fact, you might even have a little trouble finding a full blown Father’s Day brunch. My very first ice sculpture was for Father’s Day, so it’s a special day for me because of that as well. And for the most part, I have pretty good memories of the ice sculptures I’ve done for that day. Or at least mostly not horrible, except for that first one 🤮 Oh, and then there was that other one that I broke into a bunch of pieces 😱 But other than that…
my block letter DAD design, from way back in 2007
My first ice sculpture was similar to the “DAD” design pictured above. Somewhat mercifully, I’ve so far been unable to find an actual picture of that first sculpture. It’s around here somewhere though; I’d even thought that I’d posted a pic before. If I find it, I’ll try to summon the courage to post it here later. It’s a lot like the drawing above, only it looks like I was drunk when I made it 🥴
links (or link?) and stuff
You can find my social media pages in the footer below. But if you want to check out my collection of Father’s Day ice sculpture designs, then just click the blue. Father’s Day ice sculptures will always have a special day in my heart. And I miss my Dads 😞
