Father's Day--An Emotional Day

I am forty-eight years old this year and blessed with two gorgeous biological daughters, and three exemplary step-children. The greatest benefit of being a man is being a dad. Dads will nurture, embrace, and protect their offspring in a way that women won't or can't understand. Yes, mothers are protective, but dads are willing to put their lives on the line for everything that is their children and family. We are conditioned to be that strong person that our kids want to emulate, and this conditioning is right and should be without question.

Mother's Day is a day of earth, beginnings, life, and love. Father's Day is a day of sun, toughness, and light. It's a day to celebrate one half of life-giving and compassion. Father's Day is a gloriously quiet holiday celebrated by families everywhere via grilling, beer, and laughter.

I have (as of Sunday) spent twenty-five Father's Days without my dad, but never a day goes by that I don't smile when thinking of him or some silly thing he said. My Pops wasn't the best carpenter in the world, didn't know everything about politics that others may have understood, nor was he man without flaws. He was, above all else, a human being struggling to make his way through life like we all do.

One dream my Dad always shared with me was to own his own business. He grew weary of working for someone else and doing what others told him to do. Dad was a dreamer, an American, a patriot, and a veteran. He embodied everything about a poor man trying to lift himself out of poverty on his own and without the help of anyone else. Dad was proud and made sure that hard work and a "never say die" attitude was emblazoned in his son's minds.

This Father's Day is a melancholy one for me. It's one that makes me happy to be a Dad...to be one who not only aided in creating life, but in shaping and melding my kids into good, productive members of society. They are what my Dad wanted his boys to be.

So, pardon me if I shed a tear while I think about my Dad and wish he was here to talk to me and see what has become of his grandchildren. I have no doubt about how proud he would be or how often he would tell his friends about their accomplishments. My kids are products of his teachings, however short they were, and I look forward to sharing time and stories with him once again.