Abigail

When I was a kid, I remember shopping for a gift for my dad for Fathers Day. I didn’t have much money saved up at the time and all I could find within my measly budget was this small fuzzy stuffed baby chick with little black beady eyes and orange plastic feet. I wasn’t sure my father would like it because it wasn’t very big and it wasn’t something practical like a tie as if fathers need more ties for Fathers Day. Funerals, weddings and the occasional dance on a Friday night with my mom and some friends were the only times I ever remember him asking my mom to help him put on a tie. How practical are ties anyways, when most guys need someone else to help them tie the darned things.
I remember the exact moment that he unwrapped the chick and looked at it with a big smile on his face and declared that he had to think of the perfect name for his new little baby chick. We all tossed around some names to help inspire him. He held her up and announced that he was going to call her “Abigail”. So Abigail took up residence on the top of his dresser beside the spot where he placed his watch, where she could keep an eye on him while he slept.
Last year we buried my dad and before the funeral the family had a talk and we all decided to place something with dad to remember us by. So I said goodbye to my dad and to Abigail that day……
She is still keeping a watchful eye on him while he sleeps……