Tomorrow is Father's Day and my efforts to find a decent card for my dad have been exhausting. We won't even talk about how many stores I went to before I saw a card that said "Brother", and to find one that said Brother-in-Law was almost a dummy mission, but I did manage to find one in a locally owned bootleg dollar tree-type store. All of them are really great fathers who deserve honor where it is due.
But here's what's troubling me. I've seen people on social media sites saying no one cares about Father's Day or they didn't even realize Father's Day was coming up. Retailers have put forth some effort to place a nice older gentleman in a golfing outfit on the front of their sales adds, but certainly not the same hoopla we heard about Mother's Day. This got me to thinking: why isn't Father's Day celebrated with the same sincerity.
I realize that in today's society there are a lot more children growing up in homes without fathers for various reasons. Some chose to abandoned their kids, some don't even know the child exist, maybe it's the mother keeping him away (yeah, women can be some vindictive bitties sometimes), and their are lots of children who's father's are now angels watching over them... I don't know all the circumstances behind absentee fathers but what I do know is this isn't every one's testimony.
I am unapologetically a daddy's girl! Yes... I LOVE MY DADDY! He's an old-school manly man so he doesn't say a lot of mushy stuff and his way of expressing his love for me is to check the oil in my car and the pressure in my tires before I get on the road. I can't recall one night my daddy didn't come home to his 3 kids. I don't even think my daddy has spent the night in a hospital away from us. As a matter of fact, for many years he was the face that greeted me at the end of the day at nursery school. I loved riding with daddy in his pick-up truck because he listened to R&B music (Mom listened to gospel on the AM station. I had balance even as a kid.) He taught me to ride a bike, put up with my violin practice and was one of my biggest (yet surprised) fans when I started singing. He even went with me to my after-prom party junior year because my mom insisted he chaperoned. He sat there all night til 4am with the other parents and acted like he didn't know me. (We were both so through with mama that night, but I did end up having a good time.)
When I left for college, and dropped out and went back and dropped out and went back and finished, daddy never expressed his disappointment and moved all of my clothes and shoes without ever murmuring a complaint. He helped me move into my first apartment and was the first person to cross the threshold. "This ain't bad. I mean since it's free (I was a resident director) yeah... this is nice!"
And when I made the decision to move to Atlanta, it became to real to him on the day I left. He couldn't look me in the eye, but he said "I don't know why you're leaving, but be careful." and walked out the room. But when I came back to visit after a month and had survived he made sure to tell everyone at his high school reunion and family reunion "Yeah, you know my daughter lives in Atlanta now." I, along with my siblings and his grandkids, am my dad's pride and joy.
I have not one bad thing to say about my "da" (that's what we call him). I tell people all the time I got the dramatic personality from my mom, but the truth of the matter is the characteristics I got from my daddy balance me out. I am the perfect blend of the two.
I said all that to say all of this... it is not my fault that you didn't grow up with a dad, but for those of us who did, stop trying to rain on our Father's Day parade. I know a lot of people who share similar stories like mine, both guys and girls, who were fortunate enough to share a good relationship with their fathers. I'm grateful to still have my daddy and I know for a fact there are some people who wish their dad was still here on earth to celebrate with, so my heart goes out to them as well.
If you don't do for your dad or don't like him that's your business. I'm praying for God to heal your brokenness, but as for me and my siblings we'll be enjoying steaks (like we often do on Sundays) grilled with much love by our dear old dad!
Happy Father's Day to all the dad's out there!
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