My Dad's Favorite Holiday!

Happy Groundhog Day! 

I'm sad that Old Phil saw his shadow, but I guess it makes sense...it is only 1 degree outside! :( 

But I can't be too sad because today is my dad's favorite holiday! 

About ten years ago, my dad mentioned that Groundhog Day, out of all the other holidays, was his favorite. We thought it was a little strange, but not that out of line for Dad, so we went with it. And the next Feb. 2, we started sending him cards (which usually donned pictures of singing squirrels or small bears on the cover because Hallmark hasn't tapped into the Groundhog Day holiday yet...go figure!). And Mom started making him cakes that resembled groundhogs popping out of the ground. One side of the cake would always be green for spring; the other side, white for winter. Once, we even built him a groundhog at Build-A-Bear. 

For ten years, we've been habitually celebrating Dad's favorite holiday. And for ten years, we never once questioned why Groundhog Day won the honor. And then one day, we found out why.

We were surrounded by a cake shaped into a fat groundhog, a stuffed mole from Toys"R"Us that kind of resembled a groundhog and plenty of squirrel and little bear cards, and it was my sister who finally asked the question we never thought to ask. "Dad," she said, "why do you like Groundhog Day so much?" He sat there for a second, smiled and then said: "Because it was the only holiday that no one ever made a fuss about."

Needless to say, we still celebrate Groundhog Day. And this year, my sister made the cake... 

Don't worry...she doesn't bake for a living!