He’s too sexy for…

I was about 14-years old and at my first sleepover when a friend informed me that my father was “cute.”

“Are you kidding me?” I asked. I couldn’t imagine that she was talking about my dad. Charming? Yes. Charismatic? Maybe. Cute?!?!?! Eww.

I found her chatter very disturbing, but she wasn’t the only one. Every time a new friend met my father, she had to let me know that he was something special or, as one girl put it, “a something, something.”

This was a problem for me. Next to thinking about or walking in on your parents having sex, hearing friends describe your dad as “something” is about the worst thing that can happen to a hormonal, egocentric teenage girl. I mean, really, who wants to be upstaged by their old man? But rather than be scarred by this revelation, I chose to protect my innocence and block out the entire matter altogether.

That is, until last Thursday on the occasion of my marriage. Twenty five years have since past; my father is now 70-years old. You’d think this sort of chatter about him would have stopped. But at my wedding, I was reminded that it hasn’t.

“Is THAT your dad?”

“You’re father is adorable!”

“Could I get a picture with your father?”

Max and I thought we were going to have to beat the women off with a stick. And while I didn’t mind it as much as I had years earlier, I did worry how my mother handled the attention. As one friend wrapped her arms around dad’s neck, I glanced to see my mother’s reaction. She sat talking, oblivious to the hubbub around him. I guess after 41 years of marriage, you get use to having your husband ogled.

For a few minutes as we exchanged vows, Max and I took center stage. When the judge introduced us as man and wife, I glanced over to see my parents’ reaction. There they sat holding hands and smiling at each other. In that moment, my father never looked more handsome to me. And rather than recoil, I happily gave in to the obvious.

“Your dad is really something,” one friend said.

“Yeah...he really is.”