A Day Just for Dad: Happy Father’s Day

It’s the third Sunday in June which signifies Father’s Day! 

In North America, Father’s Day has been celebrated since June 19th, 1910.  Sounds like it took a few years to catch on as it was felt that dads didn’t have the same “sentimental appeal” as moms did, but none the less, over time, it did catch on and is still celebrated in North America and other countries today, although not necessarily at the same time of the year.  And oh, for the record, its not a statuary holiday, just a day each year to take time to celebrate the dads and dad figures in our life.

I was fortunate to grow up with an intact family.  My parents, in their eighties now, are still married, and although I am on the West Coast, I usually still get to see them at least once a year. 

When I think back on my Dad….this is what comes to mind:

My dad was always around. Even when he couldn’t be, it still felt like he was there. All those years he worked out of town while employed in the elevator trade, I don’t recall one single important event in my life he was not around for:  a Christmas, a graduation, of course my wedding, the birth of my kids, and even when we moved with the military, he has been here whenever I needed him.  

I fondly remember Christmas mornings and the western omelets he always made us in a cast iron skillet. I remember endless camping trips to Algonquin Provincial Park and then Restoule Provincial Park when I was married with children.  I remember the tall lanky man with dark hair and a moustache (maybe those memories are from photos, but I do remember).  I have memories of time spent on the tobacco farm in Putnam, holidays celebrated there as well, playing cards (31 and In-Between) and I remember our family trip to Walt Disney World in Florida.  I remember the support we received when we told Dad that Will was joining the military, and the unwavering support we have received every day of his career in the Navy, even from afar.   Most recently, I remember his interactions with his first great grand child. The man with two replaced knees, a replaced shoulder, with worn and arthritic hands, holding the life of his premiere great grand child.

We take a lot for granted in our lives. We get busy, we forget to call and to check in. I think we are all guilty of it to a degree.  Life is fast.  We assume they will always be there for us on the other end of the phone or at the airport after a long flight.  I do recognize with each Father’s Day (and Mother’s Day too) and with every birthday and every Christmas, that time has a way of steeling people away from us.  So on this day, this Father’s Day, and each day until the next Father’s Day, I will be grateful for everything my father gave me, taught me, still teaches me, and sacrificed for me, my brother, and now for my own family.

To all the Father’s out there, including those we lost and are now off bowling in heaven, and to those who step up and act in a role as a father, even though they may not biologically be one, Happy Father’s Day. We love you, we cherish you and we honour you.