I’ve heard it called a Hallmark Holiday, but Father’s Day is a great opportunity to let your Dad know how much he means to you.
As we age, and our fathers get older, this holiday becomes less about gifts and more about spending precious time with the man that brought you into this world.
The very first Father’s Day was the brainchild of a young girl by the name of Sonora Smart Dodd. She came up with the idea while in church celebrating Mother’s Day.
Local leaders embraced the idea and the very first Father’s Day was celebrated on June 19th, 1910.
It was eventually made a national holiday in 1972, when President Richard Nixon signed it into law.
Here we are 50 years later and countless millions of Hallmark Cards sold, celebrating the men that raised the children in their lives.
What Does Father’s Day Mean To You?
Before you visit your Dad this year, take a minute to ask yourself this question.
What does Father’s Day mean to me?
Really think about it.
Because it really does mean so much more than visiting Dad with a card and a gift.
My Dad is going to be 79 years old and he is fighting chronic lymphocytic leukemia. He has had it for a number of years, as it is a slow growing cancer, but recently he has had to start treatment.
For those of you that have had a loved one with cancer, you know how much treatment sucks.
I don’t really know how much time my Dad has left in this world, so this year, Father’s Day means more to me than ever before.
It makes me think that I should have been spending more time with him over the past couple of years, but living in different states makes that difficult.
I am traveling over 1500 miles to see him on Father’s Day, and I want it to be so much more than a short visit, giving him a card and telling him, I love you.
I want to spend the day with him and talk about fond memories that we have with each other.
Go through old pictures and share experiences with each other that maybe we hadn’t shared before.
Talk about days when we were all healthy and happy.
Maybe take a walk around the property where I grew up and he still lives. Just listen to him and let him talk. Getting off his chest, all of the things that have been troubling him.
We are all dying, just some of us faster than others. I fear that he may be dying faster than I care to admit, and coming to terms with that is becoming increasingly more difficult for me as Father’s Day approaches.
I know there are going to be awkward conversations and he is going to want to get his affairs in order.
He is going to ask me to make sure that my Mom is taken care of, and of course I will.
For the last couple of years, I haven’t visited him much and when I ask myself why, I keep coming back to the idea that every time I visit, he wants me to help him with things that are difficult for me to do. So I avoid going there.
That seems so trivial now.
If you are fortunate enough to have a father that is still alive and well, do yourself a favor and spend some time with him on Father’s Day and any other day that you can manage, because the day will come when your Dad’s days are numbered and you are going to wish that had more time.
Don’t forget your dad this Father’s Day, but don’t forget him on the other 364 days of the year or you will regret it.
Take it from someone who knows.
