"Winter's End" - Happy Father's Day, Dad

"Carole, put your books away and get your stuff to go home. The principal needs to see you downstairs before you go." These words, guaranteed to strike panic into any seven year old's heart, brought me to a state of terror.

"What did I do?" was the immediate question that came to mind as I quickly ran over the list in my mind. I had already been in the office earlier in the week for losing my lunch money, yet again, in the black hole that seemed to exist between our apartment and the bus stop four houses away.

I didn't think I was in trouble. As the perpetual new kid in school, I had quickly learned to keep my mouth shut and my head down. After all as a military 'kid' in second grade, I had already transferred schools three times. My stomach churned - I KNEW that getting in 'trouble' at school was about the worst thing I could do in life. It was even worse than accidentally flushing the baby diapers that Mummy left soaking in the toilet. School could be a scary place. The teachers were strict but I didn't always remember the rules and didn't like to make them mad.

The year had been a difficult one for me. My father, a military man, had settled us near my mother's family while he attended school out of state and then went overseas for a year. The theory had been that she would benefit from the support of her famiy and a familiar location, as she dealt with being, for all practical purposes, a single parent to myself and my two younger brothers, now aged three and one.

For myself, although I greatly enjoyed the novelty of aunts and uncles still in elementary and jr high school themselves, it had not been an easy transition. I had changed schools during the Christmas break and missed my beloved first grade teacher's wedding. To make it worse, after three years of living in the south, I found myself in snow and ice for a winter than never seemed to end. Going outside was a lengthy process that involved extra socks and boots, mittens, gloves, scarves and other clothing items that baffled me. Mummy seemed to be always busy with the babies, and my father's absence was a void in all of our lives. Even the baby seemed to know he was gone.

Slowly, I gathered my belongings and slipped out the door, embarrassed at being the center of attention. The long hallway was silent and every footstep seemed to echo. I stopped in the bathroom on the way out, both to delay the inevitable meeting with the principal, and to give myself a moment to struggle into my heavy winter coat and mittens. Everyone kept saying spring was almost here, but it was winter to me.

Finally, the moment could be put off no longer, and I trudged down the steps towards the front door. Uh oh, there was the principal waiting for me. I must REALLY be in trouble. It took me a moment longer to notice the tall slim man standing next to him, neat and trim in his military uniform, and another split second to realize it was my Daddy. I don't remember the last ten steps or what the principal said, but I'll never forget the feel of his arms around me or how special I felt as he rode me home on the back of his bicycle, all the way up the hill to our apartment, still in uniform. It was spring after all, and my Daddy was home.


May not be copied or published/republished without written permission of Carole Lee, author.