Father’s Day is Sunday. This is one of the years that it does not fall on your Mother’s birthday. That is right. I always share Father’s Day with a birthday. I know now what Kelly contended with on her birthdays. She was born on Dec. 30 which is close to Christmas. People either forget the birthday or combine Christmas presents and birthday presents. It is like being robbed of your own special day.
Not only do I lose exclusivity of “my own day”, I have constantly been charged with not being there for you kids. In these days of Oprah urging women to unite, men get labeled as unfeeling cads. As Dr. Phil spews forth his psycho babble, guys come off as the embarrassment in most marriages.
Well I have proof that I wasn’t as bad as alleged. As your mom does more and more scrap-booking, she has sorted through lots of pictures. The pictures have come from our own archives but family and friends have also produced many pictures. Guess what? I am in a lot of the pictures. I was there.
I was at every single baptism, confirmation and graduation of you kids.
There are pictures of me in the water at summer vacations at Lake Ellen.
Then there are the trips. The California trip. The Canadian trip. The Disney trips. Washington D.C. is included.
I was there at the lake. I dropped my Saturday golf dates to be with the family at the lake. It was no sacrifice. The lake is where I wanted to be.
We have pictures of me in the boat with all you kids.
I can prove that I “fried out” for the family every Sunday. The fire burning my eyelashes is evidence.
I have pictures of my graduation from UW-Oshkosh with my Masters degree. Of course the achievement had nothing to do with improving the family.
I have memories of doing something with every Grasshopper. I have memories of every Grasshopper achieving special things.
I know I am going to “pay for this blog”. I do get a little annoyed for all the Fathers of the world that work their ass off, provide all the “things” needed for the family to survive and try to keep moving forward and get nothing but complaints and dis-satisfaction for their efforts.
I want all the fathers of the world to know I understand how hard it is to play your role. I applaud your effort. When you work extra hours to afford braces for teeth, I understand. When you are out of town trying to save a customer account, I understand. When you have to choose between school classes to improve yourself or evenings at home, I understand. You fathers are special people and I hope your day is special.
There I feel better. I love your mom and I know her side of the story is just as compelling. It is the toil of both the mom and dad that makes for a successful marriage. I know she laments about things she should have done better but we all have those thoughts. She constantly strives to get better. Even today. I think she played a great role.
Dispel the notion that I was not there for you Grasshoppers. The pictures prove different.
Happy Father’s Day!
Love,
Dad