I might have known a woman created Father’s Day. No offense, guys, but did you really think a man would invent a holiday that involved making or purchasing cards and gifts for someone?
As it turns out, the idea for creating a day just for dads began in Spokane, Wash. Sonora Smart Dodd listened to a Mother’s Day sermon in 1909, and, being raised by her dad, wanted her father to know how special he was to her. Henry Jackson Smart made all the parental sacrifices and was, in the eyes of his daughter, a courageous, selfless and loving man. Sonora’s father was born in June, and she held the first Father’s Day celebration on June 19, 1910.
Fathers are one of our world’s most precious resources and deserve to be honored. I sat down and gave the whole daddy role some thought. Growing up, my poor dad was stuck with all the yucky jobs. Understand, I’m just speaking for myself. Some girls and women might find the typical dad duties appealing, but I was more than grateful to turn those disgusting tasks over to dear old dad. Things like baiting fishing hooks, killing bugs as big as a fist, and wrestling on the living room floor with the boys were delegated to my father. And he took those jobs on with all the strength and smarts of a true American hero. (And a few eye patches – never wrestle in the living room with zippered sofa pillows. The zippers are magnetically drawn to the eyes.)
My dad served in the United States Air Force and I stood in awe each morning as he entered the kitchen for breakfast, dressed in that stunning blue uniform.
Oh, and breakfast! The kitchen was my dad’s battlefield each Saturday and Sunday morning. Weekends belonged to him, and he could whip up a batch of made-from-scratch pancakes that put Denny’s to shame. Every once in a while he treated us to a weeknight version of the weekend delicacies.
“Breakfast for dinner!” he’d happily yell throughout the house. My twin brothers and I couldn’t get to the table fast enough.
No one was smarter than my dad. He knew everything about anything, and was an expert in history. And straight out of “The Brady Bunch,” “My Three Sons” or “The Andy Griffith Show,” my dad was quick to help with a more than complicated science fair project that showed only my name. I remembered searching the auditorium during the fifth grade regional Social Studies fair in Ruston, La. My eyes came to rest on my father’s face. He beamed with pride and nearly hurdled over the railing to congratulate my first-place project. (He was a high school track star, too, so hurdling that railing really wasn’t a big deal.)
We were far from wealthy, but my father always made sure there was a sturdy middle-class roof over our heads. He refused to rush out and buy the latest in teenage girl fashion, but instead taught me how to save my money for the more frivolous things in life. Christmastime, though, was his chance to spoil his family.
And like any self-respecting father with a teenage daughter, my dad dutifully threatened any and all suitors with unbearable bodily harm if I was not returned home before turning into a pumpkin.
The rose colored glasses didn’t come off until I grew up, married and had children with my husband, Jim. It wasn’t that I voluntarily gave up those glasses…I just outgrew them. Not to worry! The rose colored glasses have been passed on to our three children, who wear them with as much love and adoration as I did. The role of father will never pass, but my dad has been promoted to Pop-Pop.
It’s a role he cherishes, and who wouldn’t? Living through three children has earned him the right to visit when he can, spoil his grandchildren for a few days, and leave them in the care of their dad, reeling from a sugar high of course!
Happy, happy Father’s Day to dads everywhere.