Happy Father's Day (A Day Late)

Well, yesterday was Father's Day. I never got too excited about it as a father: now that the kids are grown, and Alison is out of the house, a great Father's Day to me is just being able to hang out with my family for the day. I don't want a bunch of gifts, no ties or wallets (although a Johnny Bench throwback jersey would be cool, or a J. Peterman shirt), I just want my kids to hang out with me and maybe a pan of brownies.

My dad never made a big deal out of it either. One Father's Day, I spent the day with him fencing off his property down in the lowland of his property. Hell, I didn't even know it was Father's Day until we were done. But we worked hard, and put in a full day, and when we were heading back to the house he told me that that was the best Father's Day present he'd ever gotten. I was 12 or 13 then. In years after, I always helped him work on one project or another. I suppose part of the reason he liked it so much was that he didn't have to give me money to buy his gift. But there was something spiritually uplifting and satisfying in doing physical work, and helping my dad with his projects.

That's all I want from my kids, really. Hang out with the old man for a day, help me with something I'm doing. That's better than any gift you could buy. If you're a dad reading this, you know what I mean. If you're a kid reading this, I hope you understand what it means. Either way, I hope you come out of this with a new understanding of the relationship between a father and his children.

Remember: Father's Day is just another day for us dads. For us, EVERY day is Father's Day. Because it isn't about the Fathers, it's about the kids.