In honor of Fathers’ Day, I want to say a few things about my dad.

His childhood wasn’t the happiest, and he did everything from shoveling dog food to running the mouse game to put himself through college and med school. He has worked long hours all of my life to provide the sort of stability and leisure for our family that he didn’t have. He is a well-respected physician who is adored by his patients and his employees. He is also quiet and reserved, with a dry sense of humor and brown eyes, all of which I’ve inherited in spades.

Those long hours meant he wasn’t always around much when we were kids – but they also meant that Mom could be home with us, for which I’m very grateful. They also meant that we could go to private school, take family vacations, and have money available to us for college. And they mean that when Pop does get home, he has earned his downtime and his peace and quiet, which are the only things he ever ask for at the holidays.

We really had to press him last night to find out what he wanted to do for Fathers’ Day, and he finally said he wanted to go to Maid-Rite for lunch. Shane had never been to a Maid-Rite, so when we walked in, he wasn’t sure what to make of it. It’s a chain of diners, really, and their specialty is a “loose-meat sandwich” – basically a burger, except the ground beef isn’t formed into a patty, and is steamed rather than fried. We had Maid-Rites all around, except Mom, who craved their breakfast options, and Eric, who went for the regular burger.

I had wanted to make a fancy brunch for the family for Fathers’ Day – we really enjoy cooking and good food, and I love to be able to share this with our families. Maid-Rite was definitely not what I had in mind – but then at lunch, as Pop told us about going to Maid-Rite with his dad when he was a kid and about his happy memories of sitting at the counter with his dad, I realized that this was his way of sharing something special with us. A Maid Rite sandwich – like peace and quiet, like a good workout, like a well-worn sweatshirt – is a simple pleasure that offers the kind of comfort, nostalgia, and relaxation that Pop amply deserves. And I’m glad we were able to share it with him this morning.