Once again, another holiday which is supposed to make us fondly remember the impact of a relative is upon us: Father's Day.
This is a good day. We remember times when our fathers taught us to tie our shoes, taught us to drive, taught us how to pretend to listen to our wives while still secretly taking in every moment of the game (Whoops! Did I say that out loud? OUCH! Shannon just hit me in the arm!).
TV tends to treat the American Father as an oaf, someone who stumbles along life and every now and then "gets it right." His kids rarely respect him, and his wife merely tolerates him. While this does make for some entertaining moments (Homer Simpson is a personal favorite of mine), it does not do most dads justice.
Most dads I know are hard working men who do what it takes on a daily basis to put food on the table and keep his kids happy. My college fraternity brothers, with whom I spent many a late night with while we, shall we say, "painted the town red," have turned into some of the most incredible dads I've know. (Side Note: In an ironic twist of fate, all of those guys have had daughters...a funny bit of "revenge"). My own dad, who had his shares of parenting mishaps, still holds a huge place in my heart. He taught me many of the values I hold onto today.
Lets all try to remember the great times with dad. There may have been down times, but today, just today, lets pretend they never happened.
So...here's to all the dads on their special day. Most of us would not be where we are without them (which goes without saying!).
