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Editorial Note: This article originally appeared in The Weekly Choice on June 16, 2005.
It’s one of those days that most of us don’t really know how to prepare for, and thus a quick glance to the calendar is usually the reminder that we need before we say, “Oh sheesh – today is Father’s Day?!” So off we run to the local convenience store, hoping to find a large display of thoughtful gifts and gadgets to save our collective butts for another year, but you know just as well as I do that unless Dad was hoping for a keen set of fireworks this year, what’s there on the shelves is likely to be slim pickin’s at best!
Sometimes I feel as though Father’s Day just doesn’t get the same sort of enthusiasm as Mother’s Day, which is kind of unfortunate because here I am, hoping to one day participate in the receiving end of this celebration myself! While the former is built up with flowers and cards and other loving pieces of symbolism churned out by the Hallmark corporation, I guess that Father’s Day simply isn’t as marketable as Mother’s Day…but of course, that certainly doesn’t make it any less important…and besides, how many Dads out there really want to be presented with a bouquet of petunias for their efforts anyways?
When it all comes down to it, there’s just no such thing as a manly bouquet of flowers…
So what do you get Dad in an effort to celebrate his special day? For the man who built your first playhouse or took you fishing down at the creek, showed you the man’s way of setting up a tent or how not to get lost in the woods, it seems only right that we look to nostalgia for our gift. I remember many a camping trip spent with my Dad, cooking the fresh fish that we’d just bought at the deli down the road after spending countless hours underneath the glaring sun without so much as a nibble – sounds like the perfect holiday to celebrate with a singing bass, now doesn’t it?! Ok, ok…not for a few months yet…
With all seriousness, though, I have a lot to thank my Dad for and it’s tough to find a gift that covers all of the bases. Many of life’s lessons, whether taught through wisdom or through example, have been passed down from Dad, including how to take care of a wasp’s nest and why not to leave the rake laying out in the middle of the yard! He’s partially responsible for my sense of humor, having taught me how to drive in a cemetery…as a quaint reminder…and also how to remain calm in the event that one might accidentally set fire to one of the picnic tables at the county park. For each of these milestones that I’ve encountered over the years, and of course many more, I have my Dad to thank for pointing me in the right direction and sometimes just letting me find my our course – without your insight and forward thinking, I might very well still be lost out there in the forest of life. For Father’s Day this year, I simply want to say thank-you for reminding me to take a compass…
But for the record, I still wouldn’t underestimate the powers of a yodeling carp just yet! Happy Father’s Day, Dad…
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