He Knew He Was In Trouble When. . .

Here’s part two of my post encouraging dads to write their memoirs.

The dad I mentioned at the beginning of that post has more than one daughter — he has two. Both live in California, and when one gifted him with my memoir-writing class she made it clear to her father that he would be reading his completed work out loud for the family when he and his wife joined them for Thanksgiving.

Dad approved.

He fulfilled that request last year, and when he rejoined our class this past April he used my “I Knew I was in Trouble When” prompt to let us know how that family reading went.

His essay starts with him describing how he packed a printed set of his essays in a folder, along with pictures and other memorabilia to share. “I read over those essays and practiced on the flight to San Francisco.”

He was feeling confident about his upcoming performance until they landed and settled in for the night. “I knew I was in trouble when I could not find the folder.” Here from his essay:

The next day I get a call from Alaska Airlines, lost and found. A girl there finds the folder of my personal memoirs on the airplane, tracks me down as the possible passenger/owner of that folder based on the information in the folder and calls me! We promptly head on out to claim the folder and I thank her profusely.

Note to self: when flying west, choose Alaska Airlines.

Now back to the story. Our writer describes the cottage the family rents near a couple of vineyards on the outskirts of Sebastopol for their after-Thanksgiving gathering. On their first day there he and his wife enjoy a special private tasting at the Kosta Browne winery. “When we all gather at the cottage she and the girls have a blast playing with the goats and taking selfies.” All the festivities lead up to the grand performance. “I get to share some of the contents of my folder with the family,” he writes. “It is a moving and joyful time. I look forward to more of this experience soon when we get back together.”

I share more stories about the classes I lead — and all I learn from the writers who sign up – in my book Writing Out Loud. Available in print at Sandmeyer’s Bookstore at 714 S. Dearborn in Chicago, and Amazon makes it quick and simple to give a kindle book as a gift with a nice printable card included as well. Here’s to father’s everywhere – we want to hear your stories!