- Tesha M. Christensen Guest Writer
Connie collaborated with her husband, Dave DeFlorin, and mother-in-law, Peggy DeFlorin of Harris, to preserve the memories of her youngest daughter’s childhood.
But these outrageous adventures will appeal to everyone.
“I think other people will see their dads in this book,” remarked Peggy. “Sometimes it’s good to be silly.”
From spaghetti on the ceiling to a mousetrap stuck on a nose, this book tells five true stories of dad and daughter adventures.
“Everyone that knows my husband has a ‘Dave story,’” commented Connie. “The longer I have been married to him the more ‘Dave stories’ I have collected. He continues to make me laugh with how he parents Athena. It is with so much love, laughter and total ridiculousness that I wanted to tell that story.”
The owner of Connie D. Photography, Connie wouldn’t label herself a writer but a photographer.
“I usually express myself through photos, but I had a story to tell,” she said. Connie began the book over a year ago, and pulled in the help of a couple friends who are editors to help polish the text.
The story started out on scraps of paper, morphed into a notebook, and then went to Peggy for illustrations before Connie finally began the layout on her computer.
“I think being a family project was the most rewarding part of this,” observed Connie about the self-published story. “My husband is so quick with rhymes. I would get the story down generally and he would rhyme it for me. Of course, sometimes he would make it totally ridiculous and we would have to re-do it.”
Although Athena and her dad are the focus of this book, Connie’s other two kids Ella and Mason had a role, as well. “They added their input, and have laughed along the way with us,” said Connie.
She always wanted to illustrate a book
Peggy DeFlorin of Harris always wanted to illustrate a children’s book. She’s been making her own greeting cards for years, entertaining family and friends with her humorous and whimsical drawings.
“My mother-in-law is so completely talented. I just knew she was the person that should illustrate the book!” stated Connie. “I’m so unbelievably grateful that she did.”
Despite Connie’s faith in her, Peggy wasn’t initially sure how to begin this project, concerned about how to create images from someone else’s head. But inspired by both her sons to do this for Athena, she set down with her colored pencils.
Soon she found herself completely engrossed in her work.
“This is something Athena will have when I’m gone,” remarked Peggy. “That’s the most important thing to me.”
Peggy and her granddaughter Athena share a love of fairies. They grow a fairy garden each year, and spend time writing letters to fairies. And so, as she was drawing the illustrations for this book, Peggy inserted a fairy on each page. It was part of her focus on the backgrounds, where she put special things for kids to discover as they flip through the book.
As a mother, Peggy has enjoyed watching her son parent. When he was a kid, she never knew what to expect, and it’s the same today.
Dave asks for her advice when making elaborate birthday cakes for his family members, and she’s helped make costumes for Cave Man Night and Spaghetti Night.
What happens on Spaghetti Night is one of the Dad Adventures featured in the book. Peggy, herself, shows up in Dad Adventure number one: sock finding.
Cooking with dad is ‘pretty fun’
Athena, age 7 and a second grader at Forest View Elementary in Forest Lake, remembers one day when she looked everywhere for her sock and couldn’t find it. She told her dad.
“He cut the sock in two,” recalled Athena. “I was actually really surprised!”
But she put a half on both of her feet, and they headed off to Grandma Peggy’s. Grandma just shook her head -- and repaired the sock.
Another tale in the book centers on Spaghetti Night at the DeFlorin house. “Cooking with my dad is pretty fun,” remarked Athena.
Dad taught her that the secret to knowing when noodles are done is to throw them on the ceiling. “We still have spaghetti stuck on the ceiling!” said Athena.
The way dad and daughter listen to their music is the topic of Dad Adventure number five. “I like heavy metal like Slayer,” commented Athena. “I also like Kids Bop 33, Kesha and stars. I read about stars a lot. And I also love mermaids.”
She was thrilled one day when someone came up to her and asked for her autograph on a copy of “Adventures with Dad.” Plus, she loves the bookmarks they had printed with the books. Athena noted that her mom is thinking about writing another book about their wacky adventures, and hopes she does. “Just cause I like these books,” Athena explained.
He has more jokes up his sleeve
The family has plenty of Dave stories to tell, in part because Dave loves showing new things to his daughter. He believes that the more experiences a child has, the better equipped they are as adults. “We’ve done all sorts of stuff together,” he remarked. “We’re always having fun.”
Plus, they do a lot of joking around.
When others read about their adventures together, Dave hopes it inspires them. “I hope that they laugh and maybe they make up stories themselves with their own kids,” he said.
The DeFlorins hope to share this book with everyone. “We are hoping if it is successful to put some money away for Athena’s college tuition, but in the end doing this book for Athena to have made us the most happy!” remarked Connie.
The book is available on Amazon for $12.95. For more information, call 320-358-0919 or email conniedeflorin@yahoo.com.
This article appeared in the April 25, 2018 Isanti County News.
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