As I mentioned in an earlier post, you were not an over-protective father. You never got worked up about much, and for the most part didn't get involved in policing who we hung out with, where we went, or what we wore. Occasionally, you'd get really stuck on one thing - I remember this usually having something to do with whether or not we had our coats zipped up all the way when we were young - and would enforce one weird, random rule strictly. When we were older, you sometimes said "where's the rest of your skirt?" when one of us showed up in a mini skirt. But, this was said more for comic effect than out of disapproval.
The exception to this laid back behavior came regarding this one light blue shirt I had when I was 19 or 20. It was a very low-cut and revealing shirt, to be sure, but also not incredibly different from other clothes I wore at the time (which of course now seems odd to me). Anyway, the first time I wore this shirt around you, you told me in no uncertain terms that you did not like it. Okay, I said, and didn't think about it again. It was sort of weird for you to be commenting on my wardrobe. I wore the shirt around you again and you said sternly, quietly, in your I-mean-business voice "Amy. I do not like that shirt." I may have been stupid enough to wear it one more time before you basically forbid me from wearing it. This was not something you'd ever done before.
Of course, I didn't stop wearing the shirt, which I loved, I just stopped wearing it when I knew I was going to see you. That Fall, you and Mom came to visit me when I was studying in London. You were taking me out to dinner one night along with my new friends Silvia and Mette. Silvia, Mette, and I would be going out to the bars after dinner, and we were all getting ready together before meeting you. Silvia was borrowing THE blue shirt that night, and it wasn't until after she had it on that I remembered the rule. "Oh," I said, "Actually, you can't wear that shirt around my Dad. He hates it."
"Come on, he won't notice, will he?" Silvia asked.
"Oh, he'll notice. Trust me. You don't want to wear that shirt around him."
Silvia threw a sweater over her head to the hide the shirt until we left you - problem solved. Dinner was fun. Marc's friend Keith was also in London at the time and he came along as well. You and Mom liked Silvia and Mette right away, and we were all laughing and having a good time. Then suddenly you looked at Silvia and narrowed your eyes. "Are you wearing Amy's shirt?" you asked.
Silvia's jaw dropped. "How can you possibly know that?" she implored, laughing "I put a sweater on to hide it from you!"
There must have been half an inch of fabric sticking out around the neckline of Silvia's sweater, and you recognized the color. It was so funny and bizarre, like you had a honing device for that one shirt because you usually didn't pay such close attention to what anyone else was wearing. Luckily for Silvia, you didn't hold it against her and over the years I think she became one of your favorite friends of mine. She never wore the blue shirt again.
love,
a
p.s. I'll try and dig up a photo of one of us in the shirt, but will you be mad if I post it??
The exception to this laid back behavior came regarding this one light blue shirt I had when I was 19 or 20. It was a very low-cut and revealing shirt, to be sure, but also not incredibly different from other clothes I wore at the time (which of course now seems odd to me). Anyway, the first time I wore this shirt around you, you told me in no uncertain terms that you did not like it. Okay, I said, and didn't think about it again. It was sort of weird for you to be commenting on my wardrobe. I wore the shirt around you again and you said sternly, quietly, in your I-mean-business voice "Amy. I do not like that shirt." I may have been stupid enough to wear it one more time before you basically forbid me from wearing it. This was not something you'd ever done before.
Of course, I didn't stop wearing the shirt, which I loved, I just stopped wearing it when I knew I was going to see you. That Fall, you and Mom came to visit me when I was studying in London. You were taking me out to dinner one night along with my new friends Silvia and Mette. Silvia, Mette, and I would be going out to the bars after dinner, and we were all getting ready together before meeting you. Silvia was borrowing THE blue shirt that night, and it wasn't until after she had it on that I remembered the rule. "Oh," I said, "Actually, you can't wear that shirt around my Dad. He hates it."
"Come on, he won't notice, will he?" Silvia asked.
"Oh, he'll notice. Trust me. You don't want to wear that shirt around him."
Silvia threw a sweater over her head to the hide the shirt until we left you - problem solved. Dinner was fun. Marc's friend Keith was also in London at the time and he came along as well. You and Mom liked Silvia and Mette right away, and we were all laughing and having a good time. Then suddenly you looked at Silvia and narrowed your eyes. "Are you wearing Amy's shirt?" you asked.
Silvia's jaw dropped. "How can you possibly know that?" she implored, laughing "I put a sweater on to hide it from you!"
There must have been half an inch of fabric sticking out around the neckline of Silvia's sweater, and you recognized the color. It was so funny and bizarre, like you had a honing device for that one shirt because you usually didn't pay such close attention to what anyone else was wearing. Luckily for Silvia, you didn't hold it against her and over the years I think she became one of your favorite friends of mine. She never wore the blue shirt again.
love,
a
p.s. I'll try and dig up a photo of one of us in the shirt, but will you be mad if I post it??
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