Let’s talk — Father’s Day

We celebrate Father’s Day this Sunday. When I think about the day, more often than not, I get flooded with a surge of memories. It’s not just one memory, but a lifetime of them. Most of them are happy. A few are sad. I think of my life as a father, I think of my own father, and I think of the many great fathers who have shaped my life.

Here are a few of the images that flash across my mind:

—Made from the Heart: Homemade cards, each ending with a scrawled signature and the words “Love you, Dad.” I remember the ones I proudly made for my own dad, and now, the ones my kids have given to me over the years.

—Spilling the Tea (and the Coffee): Long conversations with my kids. I see us at our old kitchen table when they were little, then later at a restaurant, and eventually sitting in their first apartment rooms. Mainly, I think of the simple magic of chatting and just being with them as they grew.

Image by Pexels.

—A Front-Row Seat: Watching my exhausted wife and the birth of all three of our kids. The older two took their own sweet time — they liked being inside with their mother and didn’t seem to want to come out into this cold, crazy world. But our youngest? He spent the shortest amount of time in the womb. He came out flying. The doctor wasn’t even ready and in position to catch him!

—Shouting it from the Rooftops: I think of the little knickknacks, like the “World’s Greatest Dad” mug that sits in our cupboard. I still use it regularly. Yes, I know other dads like to make that claim, but sorry guys — my kids gave me that award first, and it’s official.

—A Loving Role Model: I don’t mean to get religious, but I often think of Jesus and his relationship with Joseph, his earthly father. We don’t hear much about Joseph in the Bible — outside of the birth story — but that is kind of par for the course for the role. Do the job. Soldier on. Bite the bullet. Don’t worry about the credit. It’s silent leadership passed down from generation to generation.

Image by Pexels.

I have to be honest: I think of some misses, too. I worry about the times I was too hard on my kids, unforgiving, or maybe not as patient and loving as I should have been. I worry about when life’s challenges and my anger got the best of me.

But when the dust settles, I mainly think about the sheer gift of being loved, and how profoundly grateful I am for my children.

Happy Father’s Day to fathers everywhere.