“WHEN is Father’s Day?” Georgia asked as if I had been keeping it a secret.

“It’s next Sunday.”

“When is Sunday?” she wanted to know. In pre-school fashion, she tries to understand time and days and months, but she gets it best when I measure it out with my hands, as if showing the size of the fish that got away.

“It’s about this long,” I held my hands about a foot apart, “nine days from now.”

“Oh, that’s not long at all!” she said, pleased. “We should get him a hammock, and then we can all sit in the hammock and swing together!”

I’m not sure about the swinging part, but it just so happened that Freddy’s had an affordable cotton hobo-style hammock on sale, and I had been thinking it would be a good Father’s Day gift. We got it, and I reminded Georgia that Father’s Day was a long time from now, so we’d have to keep it a secret. A short time later when Hova called to say he was on his way home she yelled, “Don’t tell him about the hammock!” If he heard her he has been very chivalrous about keeping mum, and except for that lack of knowledge about how telephones work, Georgia hasn’t said a word. She’s very happy with her present to him, and has been busy working on newspaper streamers for the celebration.

If I were to believe the many ad circulars and commercials, Georgia should be getting her daddy an iPod, a gas grill, a massive flat-screen television, some golf gear, a tie or a Hummer for Father’s Day in return for being a great dad. And though I’m sure he would like an iPod, there aren’t too many times in his life where he’d be happy tuning out Georgia in favor of all six sides of Sandinista, some mind-numbing sitcom or a day on the green (if he even remembers golf from his college PE course requirement). Certainly not on Father's Day!

But lucky for me (and, I guess, unlucky for Hova), we're leading the simpler life, and eschewing another commercial holiday spend-a-thon. But the hammock will be great, and Georgia has some other terrific ideas for other things he will enjoy, and you might want to try some of them too!

Hike Your Park!

Sometimes a real hike is a little too ambitious for our family, but a hike around the park can be inspiring. Examine trees for bugs and observe bug behavior. Turning over rocks can lead to good entomological fun too! Search for four leaf clovers, or see how many different shaped leaves you can find. Make a log cabin out of gathered sticks for imagined fairies or mice. A daisy chain is an ambitious, sweet activity once everyone is tired from exploring.

Easy No-Bake Peanut Butter Globes

My neighbor Sharon brought these addictive and simple treats to our house. She had made them with Georgia and her son Gabe (of gDiaper fame). I’m going to make them with Georgia while Hova gets some rare time to read the Sunday paper, uninterrupted, and then we’ll take them with us to the park!

1/2 cup honey
1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
1 cup nonfat dry milk powder
1 cup ground rolled oats

Mix all ingredients and shape into balls (or planets, or the orb shape of your choosing). Don't cook!

Story Time in the Hammock

Georgia’s second favorite thing is to have Hova read to her. He’s a brilliant reader, very expressive and fun to watch, and he brings books to life while she cuddles in his lap. The plan is that I will put up the hammock, and after we all try it out — Hova first, of course — she and he will spend part of the day swinging and reading Harry Potter.

The Harry Potter, Ron Weasley, Hermione Granger Game

The rest of the day is reserved for Georgia’s first favorite thing: pretending. It is exhausting for adults, but as essential —and effortless — to Georgia as breathing. Since there’s no real way out of it (even when we tell her we can’t pretend she pretends we’re pretending) I’ll be on Hermione duty, and “Ron” will be temporarily immobilized in a giant, comfy cocoon, having a nap by himself in the hammock!

Photo courtesy of Gaetan Lee.