My daughter and I were sitting at my son’s final baseball game of the year this past Tuesday night. And it was hot. Real hot.
I was trying to figure out some way to cool down. I thought too bad that Father’s Day is still almost five days away or I could ask my daughter to fan me. Then it hit me! If we can have 12 Days of Christmas, surely we can have 5 1/2 days of Father’s Day. Who wouldn’t go for that? Well, what dad wouldn’t go for that?
The 1/2 Day of Father’s Day
So I immediately put my plan to my daughter, H. And I followed it up with how hot I was, and how great it would be if she were to fan me for a bit. (I didn’t add the part about feeding me grapes; I just figured she might think of that one herself) My daughter, who is 20, was interested enough to stop reading the book she had brought, thought about it for a brief second, and met my great new idea with “No, I don’t think so.” Then back to reading.
Ok, so maybe it takes more than half a day for a new tradition to catch on.
The First Full Day of Father’s Day
Ok, this day was sure to be better. The gifts and deeds were sure to come down like rain on this day.
And sure enough, without any prompting, H volunteered to cook dinner. Hey, this is a great new way to spend the special occasion. So while my daughter was inside in the cool comfort of air conditioning, I found myself outside in a heat that had to be somewhere around the same temperature used to cook a turkey. Then I realized, Hey! Wait a second!! Why am I out here working during Day 1 . . . This holiday definitely needs some tweaking.
The Second Full Day of Father’s Day
H was off work on this day, so I knew big things were in store. And indeed they were. She offered her brother a chance to hang out. AND she was going to take him out for lunch. Just the two of them.
Oh boy, we’re going out to lunch, I thought. Hey, wait a second . . .
The Third Full Day of Father’s Day
Friday, Day 3, was a travel day. We were on our way to a Family Reunion. But on the trip, H did let me listen to songs on her I-pod in the car, and my son, S, did let me play in the pool with him until a little after 10.
Hey, wait another second . . .
On the Fourth Full Day of Father’s Day
No gifts again today. But we did invent a really fun drinking game that you can read about in a previous blog post: https://holdingtogetherthejello.com/2013/06/15/getting-involved-with-the-kids-in-a-drinking-game/
The Fifth Full Day of Father’s Day – The Big Day
Ok, so we’re finally to the real Father’s Day. So for this Father’s Day, my kids got me , , ,
The best gifts I ever received.
Oh, heck. That doesn’t even matter. Instead, on this Father’s Day, I would urge you to hug your kids. Tell them you love them. Savor everyday with them.
Because Father’s Day isn’t about what our kids get or do for us. While the day is a chance for our families to honor us, we need to remember what the day should be for us – a chance to remember that our kids are the real gift on Father’s Day, and every day in between.
Holding together the jello 