A few days ago, my wife and I were out running errands, in and out of various stores around town – the highlight of my week. Going into one, we noticed a sign saying something about Father’s Day. I stumbled for a moment, realizing that I had forgotten that Father’s Day was coming up. I mean, I AM a father and I am lucky enough to still have my father with me as well. It made me start wondering why Father’s Day seems to get short shrift compared to Mother’s Day.
While the “first” Father’s Day was celebrated as early as 1910, it didn’t become a National Holiday in the United States until 1972 when President Nixon signed a bill into law. In contrast, Mother’s Day was made a national holiday in 1914 by President Woodrow Wilson. Somewhat ironically, Anna Jarvis of Grafton, West Virginia (the founder of Mother’s Day) hated what that holiday became and fought against its commercialization the rest of her life. My guess is she would probably approve of the lower key recognition of Father’s Day, but I digress.
When my wife asked what I wanted for Father’s Day, should the girls ask, I really had no clue. I’m guessing most fathers would be in the same spot. Most of us don’t really think about ourselves first. As long as our families have what they need, we don’t really spend a lot of time thinking about wants. Or when we do, it tends to be “larger” items like that new big(ger) screen television or a new camera lens. We don’t think small. With no middle ground, our families are usually left with little recourse but to skip getting a present all together or to pick something completely inconsequential. For the record, if my family is reading this, I work from home. I don’t need ties…
I can’t speak for all fathers, and will probably get some grief from someone who was looking forward to the latest tie for the collection, just tell us Happy Father’s Day. Say thank you. Ask our advice about something. We love that. Hang out for a little bit. That’s really all I (we) want. If you want to take us out to dinner, that’s fine, too.
Unless, of course, you want to spring for that new telephoto zoom lens…
And to all you fathers out there, and especially mine, Happy Father’s Day!.