Father’s Day

Ever since I can remember my dad called me “Tara Pizer Twinkle Toes”.  I’ve asked several times, and no one, including him, seems to know where the name came from, but for whatever reason it stuck for many years.  I believe it was sometime during my junior high years that I threw a tantrum, which conceded with the dropping of the “Twinkle Toes”, but Pizer, stuck!

Making up names for things was and still is a common practice for my dad.  I had a stuffed frog he named “My Son the Doctor” and a special meal we would make together for my mom called, “Breakfast Pizza Sandwich Meatza”.  When we were sick on the couch he would tuck us in very tightly and say we were “snug-roose” My mom was affectionately referred to as “Momma Girl”, Kyle… “Kyle the Bone Pile Hutton” (there is a good story for that one…catch it in another blog) and Brooks is “Brooks Willum, the wild man Hutton”

His nicknames have not always been appreciated in our family.  I confessed my lack of appreciation over “Twinkle Toes” and I can still see my mom’s eyes a rolling over a few, but we all knew they came from his desire to connect with us, to make us laugh and to show us we were special to him.

And this Father’s Day weekend, I want him to know he is special to me and I think I can speak for our entire family, in saying that we feel more connected and loved by him than ever.  He has allowed his pain and suffering over the loss of our mom to grow him, to strengthen him, to remind him of what really matters in this life and we all needed to see that. We all need to be reminded that it is in our brokenness that we are made stronger.  It is in our pain and suffering that we can best connect with those we love.  So thank you Daddy and Happy Father’s Day!  I love you!!