LIFE OF A WRITER

Today is my dad’s birthday, which reminds me that I should call him and wish him a happy birthday … not to mention, I should throw is birthday card in the mail, too. Oopsy. My bad. But hey, it’s not all bad as I spent Saturday and Sunday with my parents in Rochester.

On Saturday, Rochester Central Lutheran School threw its annual auction. I can’t remember how long my dad has been working at the school, but this is the first year I attended the auction … and it was fun! Before the live auction, there was a silent auction.

After looking over the first room of stuff during the silent auction, I decided I needed to buy some stuff and so I got myself a bid number. It’s like eBay! I see something that I want and write down my price. It’s awesome … in the end, I got a T-shirt, some Beanie Babies, a watercolor print, and a dancing dog.

Then there was the live auction, and let me tell you … it was fun! It’s like watching tennis … watching different people bid higher and higher on homemade quilts and other packages! I wanted to get in on the action (there were chocolate chip cookies), but my budget stopped me.

Not to mention, my dad never answered my question about whether or not the school accepted credit cards as a form of payment. If he had said, “Yes,” then I would have been all over the chocolate chip cookies (three dozen homemade cookies per month for the next year).

Fortunately (or unfortunately), I was out of the room when the chocolate chip cookies went up for bid … I had decided to find out what I had won from the silent auction. I don’t know why I found the auction so fascinating … I had a great time, and next year, I’ll be ready to bid on something in the live auction!

A  BIRTHDAY MEMORY FOR DAD

This is one of my favorite memories with my dad … We used to live in Washington, Mo., where my parents taught at the Lutheran school. I think I was in kindergarten (or first grade … no, it was kindergarten because then Krissy would have tagged along) when my dad drove me to school.

It was just him and me going to school in the morning. At the time, my dad had a manual black Volkswagon Beetle. My dad needs coffee in the morning to start his day … or else he’s a big pain in the tush. And this was the time before portable coffee cups and traveling mugs.

On the way to school, my dad drove … one hand on the steering wheel and the other holding a coffee mug. With no more hands available, he taught me how to shift the bug … he told me when to use the shifter. I felt very important shifting for him when he couldn’t.

He could have had me hold the coffee mug, which probably would have a big deal to me, too, back then, but I felt important and special when he told me to put the bug in first or second gear. I don’t remember much at that age, but I remember that memory with my dad.

Happy birthday, dad.