Daddy Day Care

I don’t remember Father’s Day much growing up.  I think because my Dad worked two jobs most of that time, and probably wasn’t home.  My Mom wasn’t given to sentimentality, so Mother’s Day is not very memorable either.  Those days were certainly simpler, different times.

Now even Father’s Day is a little lost in the shuffle.  Someone pointed out to me yesterday that it was “National Strawberry Shortcake Day”!  That is so awesome, I love that stuff!!  But yesterday was also “Flag Day”, commemorating the 1777 adoption of our national flag.  It’s a “real” holiday, made official by an Act of Congress in August 1949.  So when I look at my calendar on June 14th, I’m celebrating the yumminess of Old Glory.  Maybe I’ll have some dessert after dinner.

I must rage against all of these made up holidays that have clogged my calendar.  For example, today is simultaneously “Smile Power Day”, “National Jugglers Day”, and – my personal favorite – “National Hollerin’ Contest Day”.  I better run to the store and get a Hallmark card for all of my smiling, juggling, hollerin’ buddies.  You know who you are!

Hasn’t this gotten a little out of hand?  And it’s not just days we recognize.  Just so you know, June is Aquarium, Candy, Dairy, Adopt a Cat, Fresh Fruit and Vegetables, Rose, Turkey Lovers Month… and another fave –  National Accordion Awareness Month!

Before I start getting hollered at by cat lovers, I understand the need to recognize important people and events.  I’m all for Nurses Week, Teachers Month, Hug A Policeman Day, etc.  In work, Customer Service Week is awesome!  But of all of these recognition days and calendar cloggers, I’m going to throw my considerable weight behind Mother’s Day and Father’s Day.

Tomorrow is my 23rd official Father’s Day… “official” because I did get some special treatment before my oldest was born in 1990.  And I deserved that living with a women in her third trimester, and working with a boss going through same.   So I will unabashedly say that I like this weekend.  Not because of any one memory that sticks out, but because of a few little things the day or weekend brings.

I love the cards from my boys, the phone calls from my sisters, and now all of the fun social media stuff.  I always get to choose my meals and whatever I want to do.  I get control of the TV remote – hilarious because I always have that!!  It’s just a good day!

A few years, Johnny had soccer tournaments on this weekend – that was great fun!  Our sports club, Academy Sabres, holds an excellent event this weekend… Father’s Day Tent City – a campout on the soccer fields!  And of course, Father’s Day for me is watching the final day of the US Open.

I think about my Dad this weekend too, and I miss him.  Once I became a Dad myself, Father’s Days with him were always so much better.  Better, because he was retired and we had more time together.  He would be here a lot for whatever I was doing with my sons.  Three generations… cool shit.

Tomorrow will be unexpectedly great because Colin is coming home from the shore tonight to be with me for Father’s Day.  He’s heading back early Monday morning for work… I’ll take it!  Johnny is working tomorrow night, so I’m looking forward to a great morning and afternoon with my sons.  They are both adults now, and the days of climbing all over me like the photo above are gone.  So I’ll take all the conversation and laughs they have for me now.  Later I’ll fire up the grill, and my ass will be planted firmly on the couch watching Tiger, Rory and Phil, with my beverage of choice!  It’s shaping up to be a great day – this Dad doesn’t need anything else.

Because of a few things that happened this week, I now realize that nothing in our lives is guaranteed.  While this might be the first Father’s Day for some guys out there, it may be the last for others.  So enjoy the hell out of it, my friends!  That is my plan!  Tomorrow and every day, the only thing that is guaranteed is that I will love my boys for the rest of their lives… not just mine.

That said… Happy Father’s Day!  Have fun and some great food!  Because Monday is “Eat Your Vegetables” Day.