6.18.2010

An Ode to The Dads...


My father taught himself how to play the saxophone by listening to David "Fathead" Newman records when he was ten-years-old.

A few years later, he left school to play professionally and help support his family. At 15 he moved to New York City, lived in the attic at a friend’s house and played in clubs around the city. Eventually he would tour around the world with rock bands, play to sold out arenas and bring us home small trinkets from the road – a tiny porcelain tea set from Germany, a little silk kimono from Japan. Now in his 60’s, he still works as a musician full-time. It’s all he’s ever done.


my friend Amy snapped this pic of my dad last night at Jazz by The Bay in Sausalito...

And by the way, he’s a fantastic father.

So much of what I've learned about creativity, work-ethic, integrity, perseverance and commitment came from watching him. He’s a consummate family man, endlessly supportive and, well... a feminist – he was certain my two sisters and I could accomplish anything we wanted in life, his ultimate dream being that one of us would become president (clearly not in the cards, but you can’t blame him for dreaming big.

My husband Bryan is also a fantastic father.

The girlies adore him with every fiber of their beings and for good reason. He’s loving and patient and funny and doting and present. He takes them on adventures, teaches them about science and history and art and how to play the guitar (yes I married a man who also plays music, hmm…)

But most important (and not unlike what my own father taught me) he sets the ultimate example for the type of men I hope they one day choose to marry.

So happy Father’s Day guys. You are loved beyond words.

Have a splendid weekend friends!

12 comments:

Unknown said...

awe - love this! .. my dad is TOTALLLLLLLLY my hero - i dunno if anyone will measure up! .. he's beyond super!

glad u got amazing men in ur life too!!!

*kiss kiss*
Happy Weekend!
Erika
~Tiptoe Butterfly~

Kelly said...

so sweet, how lucky you are to have two such amazing men in your life.

xo
Kelly

laura said...

Lovely post; how wonderful to have a musician for a father!

I saw David Newman play at Dizzy's in NY a few years back {my mum lives and breathes jazz} unfortunatley she can't play a note, but I grew up surrounded by the music anyway, wonderful :-)

chelsea said...

What a lovely tribute! Joslyn- you are the coolest!:)

Have a happy weekend!

Ann said...

Wow, that brought tears to my eyes.

torrie said...

Very, very sweet.

Ana Degenaar said...

I feel my heart swell - This is such a beautiful post, I miss my father so much, can't want to see him and hug him again... your dad's story reminds me of my father, I feel so proud of him for all he is even when he truly struggled at one point... This is so lovely, thanks for sharing Jos!
xo

Karena said...

So so true, we want our daughters and grandaughters to see what kind of traits to look for in a man!
(and who to avoid)

Karena
Art by Karena

Carol@TheDesignPages said...

I have stumbled upon your post and really just love it! Can't wait to read more, often.
Carol

Charlotta Ward said...

How wonderful! I love posts like this. Father's Day is not until later this year here in Australia but I am enjoying all these declarations of love by my US blog friends.

Hope you have a special day and that the gorgeous men in the family are celebrated well.

Happy weekend to you.

x Charlotta

Unknown said...

Wonderful tribute to your dad and your husband? I am a jazz fan. What is your dad's name?
Best wishes and Happy Father's Day,
barG

dulci said...

What a cool story!! :)

http://ladulcivida.blogspot.com/