Dad's The Man!

Fathers Day is Sunday. Don't forget dad, he's the man! I'm not sure we view it the same way we do Mothers Day. Mothers Day just seems so much more important. We seem to take it a bit more serious, and plan things a bit more elaborate for mom rather than dad.

If by chance we forget dad on his day till the last minute he's fine with it. I fact, he can't tell you were rushing around at the last minute. Mom? Well, now one has ever had the guts to try that one- especially dad! To lend some support to that, Mothers Day was made a holiday by President Woodrow Wilson in the early 20th century. Fathers Day was signed into holidayhood by President Lyndon Johnson in 1966. Dad hardly noticed the over half-century gap there.

And he still doesn't. "Hey dad, what do you want for Fathers Day?" "When is it this year?" "This weekend!" "Oh, don't worry about me, I've got everything I need" ...blah blah blah. This is the standard answer dads give to their families every single year. He undersells it. He's not really lying to you, he's just...Dad! Dad doesn't get all the fuss. Oh, he'll love the new recliner after he gets over the shock at how much it cost. Same goes for the new I-Phone, fishing pole, or Taylor Made Driver.

Kidding aside, it is kind of sad that in our society today, whether it's TV, or the movies, dad is a bumbling idiot. He can't really do anything right, and always needs mom or the kids to bail him out. I guess a certain amount of that is based on truth, but not to the degree that it is made out to be. I think it's a bit dangerous to put that out there day after day after day, in show after show. In our society we, though the media especially have minimized dad. I fear a generation or two have grown up with the wrong idea of dad. Overall, he's not Homer Simpson, and he's not Ward Cleaver either. Even though at times may resemble both. And I think we should remember that!

Truth is, dad's really NOT and idiot. He's a good guy. An important guy. Even though it's hard for us all to swallow sometimes, he is just as important as mom. His role is very different, but no less important. Sometimes we have a tendency to take dad for granted. Because a good one is so stable, so steady that we sometimes forget that he is doing some heavy lifting so others don't have to. And somehow, dad doesn't mind that much.

I was lucky, in the short time my dad was in my life before he died, I had a lot of appreciation for him and what he did. He always made me special. And being the youngest of three, I appreciated that at the time. Three decades later, I appreciate it even more. Some things you just don't forget. And that....is a good thing!

Yea my dad was probably like your dad. Couldn't cook real well, wore the wrong clothes sometimes, splashed on Old Spice, and had that confused look on his face a lot of the time trying to keep up with mom and the rest of us. But we wouldn't have it any other way. That's just dad!

Look, if you're lucky enough to have your dad around, take good care of him this Fathers Day. And if you for whatever reason haven't seen dad in a while, make this the year you put it back together. He'll appreciate that more than anything else you could get him. Remember, he's "got everything he needs!"

Because Dad's the man!