When my brother and I were 7 and 5 respectively, my dad used to crawl around on all fours, lumbering around like a harmless bear. My brother and I would immediately go into attack mode and try and take him down. We’d crawl on his back, swing around his neck, and try our hardest to take him down. Inevitably my dad would ‘catch’ one of us and tickle us mercilessly until we gave-in. These imaginative play-fights always ended in laughter and smiles.

My father was always trying to challenge me and teach me about the things he was passionate about. He was a classical music aficionado. Often, he would often roll down the windows in the car, play his classical music CD’s at top volume, and conduct the symphonies with the pens he kept in shirt pockets. I was the only preschooler I knew who could differentiate between pieces composed by Hayden versus Mozart. Each day as we drove to my preschool he would play me a piece of music and ask me to identify the composer and whether it was classical, baroque, or romantic. My favorite record he would play was The Four Seasons by Vivaldi. He would ask me to close my eyes and tell him what I saw as we listened to each season.

Another of his passions was wildflowers. He and my mother would seek out the best blooms in southern California. They would take my brother and I to ogle the blooming magenta ocotillos in Anza Borrego, the golden hills of California Poppies in Lancaster, and the purple and orange fields of lupines and daisies in Gorman. My father passed away suddenly almost 5 years ago, but to this day, I will listen to  Vivaldi’s “Spring”, close my eyes like my father used to tell me to, and imagine us walking through those flower fields together, the colors and smells still as vibrant as they ever were.

My dad didn’t do much rearing. He was raised in a time and place where men worked so that’s what he did.  He worked from sun up to sun down so that we could live and eat and prosper. However, he did have some routines that really shaped my view of men and of myself.  One was that he read the paper every day. Sometimes he’d take it with him as he left for work, but on the weekend, he’d sit at the table with his big Spanish/English dictionary and read the paper cover to cover. My dad only studied until he was eight-years-old, so reading with the dictionary at hand was how he taught himself English and stayed aware of current events.

Another thing he did every day of my life was to whistle a greeting when he came home from work. We (my three sisters and I) would come running and throw ourselves at his legs.  He must have loved our daily-group hug as much as I did. Lastly, even though our mom did most of the caregiving, my dad tucked us in every night.  He’d gather us together, sing us a few Cri-Cri songs with his guitar (“los cochinotos” is still my favorite), and then he’d persignar each one of us before kissing us goodnight.

My own children have a very different relationship with my dad. Now that he’s retired, my dad, their “Obo”, can play and be silly, and go to the park, and read books in his thick Spanish accent. My two sons have both been rocked to sleep in his arms and cared for tenderly by my dad. They emulate him, copying his expressions and mannerisms with incredible likeness. I didn’t have a grandfather so to get to experience the special bond between my boys and their granddad is incredibly heartwarming for me and all of our family.

I remember when I was about 6 or 7 years old my grandpa would sit with me in the patio chairs after lunch. He would tell me all his stories about when he was in the army. Even though sometimes he would tell me the same story over and over, I would listen like it was the first time. After story time, he would read the newspaper with me. I loved to sit with him and read the comics, especially the comics about a little girl named Mafalda. Then I’d help him fill out the crossword puzzles that the newspaper had. He would tell me where and which letter to put in each little square. Ever since, I’ve loved crosswords puzzles and each time I do one I feel like I am a little kid again!