I spend a lot of time thinking about Popples. He is so simple that it's complicated. You don't think much about your parents having personalities when you're a kid. It's not until much later, when they finally relax, that you find out who they are. Sometimes I feel like I've only just gotten tickets to the show. Has he been like this the whole time? How did I miss so much?
Shock, outrage, and delight are feelings I experience often and still as Dad and I age along and watch each other move through a day. He and I are very different people. My squirrelly, gentle behavior is confusing to him, while his fearless, booming motivation is marvelously frightening to me.
While most people anxiously follow the protocol, overthink their emails, wait in line to to talk to the
Big Wig's assistant and then second-guess whether or not they should make their suggestion, Dad just goes and finds the Big Wig, taps him on the shoulder and asks him for exactly what he wants. Who does that?
I don't know how Chris Union fooled his young, artsy daughter into thinking he totally understood her, but he managed to do that everyday and that's the sign of flawless fathering.
Now, as his age has set forth the liberation of his fatherly behavior (as if he needed to feel more liberated) he slings around phrases like, "froo-froo art crap" and "you mean people actually think about stuff like that?"
Who is this irreverent person?
Coming up on close to a year of working in the office with him, I've learned even more about him. He is shockingly unphased by disaster or confrontation. He has a limited number of craps to give each day. He laughs at other peoples inconveniences (but don't you dare inconvenience him), and he never passes up the opportunity to make a joke which, even when missed by the audience, will still earn a hearty and inappropriate guffaw from himself. He's delighted by the things he thinks.
I wish I was more like him. As Brett has gotten to know Dad over the years, he has pointed out so many observations of Dad that I have never seen. Brett likes Dad's laugh, which has a very distinct sound when it's first getting going. Brett mimics how Dad stands when he's thinking and can anticipate with precision, what will be Dad's reaction to different requests. At first, I worried about Dad's more obnoxious traits coming on too strong for Brett. Brett is deliberate and introspective and like me, he likes to mull over decisions long before he makes them. I wondered if Action Dad would inadvertently push Brett along faster that he'd want to go. In turn, Brett found Dad strangely exhilarating and as time has passed, Brett eagerly anticipates watching Dad react to life. Having a husband that can see what makes your own Pops so unique and fun is an extra special gift. I've enjoyed getting to know my own Dad through Brett's experience.
Sometimes, when Brett and I talk about him, we wheeze and giggle the way you do when you think about your beloved dog doing something adorable. I wish I was more like him. Brett says I have his mustache. He says we have the same chuckle and people skills. And as I've gotten older, I find myself sitting with my hands laced together behind my head, just like he does before he falls asleep. Most notably, I am also a bit too delighted by the things I think.
Recently at the office, I blurted out, "Isn't he adorable!" when Dad did some rudimentary task. His office manager looked at him and said, "You know Chris, never-mind you being capable of running successful businesses and all of your professional accomplishments, your daughters think it's cute when you send an email." And it's true. When I see Dad do something simple, it tickles me. Because in my mind, he's off somewhere fighting crime and soaring over cities with his cape flapping in the wind behind him. He doesn't know about the mundane tasks of civilian life because he's never been one.
I'll just never get over him.
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