Father's Day: Honoring Much More Than Baseball Referees

The long arm of a father extends far. It affects in untold ways how children grow up and to what they aspire. Moreover, a father's tools of love and patience are sharpened early. It begins simply with toddler challenges of "just one more" climb of grandma's steep concrete steps or swinging plastic bats at family pets instead of balls! Yet, over the years, fathers endure much more. Through tearful nights of unsolvable math problems and stoic denials of what's prompting teacher conference requests, fathers carry on. Ostensibly, it's because of love. But maybe, too, in their children they see much of themselves as they once were and might be still. Indeed, many women insist that men identify easily with their kids because they are little boys inhabiting big bodies. Nonetheless, there's something more. For, most men who wear the badge of dad are trying their best everyday. As children do, they strive to open every possible door to achieve their goals. Not easily told "No," they seem to latch onto their children's valiant spirits in ways moms can't quite do. So, as Father's Day arrives, how we honor them deserves attention.

Celebrated worldwide, Father's Day isn't new. It originated in the U.S. in 1910. Perhaps it was a polite concession to "ladies first." For, it followed a few years after early celebrations honoring moms. Officially placed on 1972's national calendar, there's something unique about its origin. While listening to a 1909 Mother's Day sermon, founder Sonora Smart Dodd, of Spokane, Washington, had a special reason for proposing a similar day to honor fathers. Her inspiration was her own dad, a Civil War veteran who single-handedly raised six children after their mother's death. Unusual then, it's noteworthy today, when men have significantly stepped up to the childcare plate. They're now more present than ever in children's daily lives. For years, unless losing a mate, even well-intentioned dads weren't taken seriously as care providers. And while they may have had fun refereeing baseball games and overseeing park outings and algebra, who knows if they didn't feel like something was missing?

Nowadays, they don't have to worry about that! And perhaps finally, as it should be, comes recognition that while they are role models for boys, they are also powerful examples for daughters. The old adage, children learn what they live, proves true. It's hard for daughters to understand how women should be treated by men if they never see it. The man who remembers his wife with anniversary flowers or takes the kids to pick out something special for mom's birthday is, perhaps, more influential than realized. If beyond that, he can sling an infant in a backpack, make a wickedly healthy smoothie, build a great tree-house and go to work everyday doing a job he values, there's a bonus for all. Daddy's little girls, and his boys, too, will have a great role model for navigating everyday life as a "grownup." Even if they don't always agree, women can be grateful for that!