Father’s Day in the U.S. occurs annually on the third Sunday of June. President Lyndon B. Johnson issued the first presidential proclamation to honor fathers in 1966. In 1972, it became a “national holiday” when President Richard Nixon signed legislation designating the third Sunday of June as Father’s Day. Going back further in time, Sonora Smart Dodd is credited with the idea of honoring fathers. She gained the idea after hearing a sermon on Mother’s Day way back in 1909. Local religious leaders supported the idea of a celebration for Dads in June, which is the month of Sonora Dodd’s father’s birthday. President Calvin Coolidge also supported the observance in 1924. So, the notion of “Father’s Day” has been around for a long, long, time, and deservingly so.
Father’s Day is kind of like Mother’s Day, just celebrating the opposite sex for being a parent. Though it’s technically a holiday, neither really gets the day off on their special day of recognition. Thus, it’s essentially a working holiday. For Dads, perhaps there’s breakfast in bed, homemade cards from the kids, and golf on TV despite constant interruptions to make him miss the eagle for the win. If Dad is lucky, he may get gifts, such as a new coffee mug declaring him super Dad – which we all know is way better than being a regular, boring Dad. (There is probably a mug for that, too!) Dads may even get some new tools to fix broken stuff. And there’s always broken stuff. In the words of actor Ray Romano, “Having children is like living in a frat house – nobody sleeps, everything’s broken, and there’s a lot of throwing up.” Well, maybe the new tools will come in handy after all. That, and a bucket.
But alas, on the glorious day of Father’s Day, the trash still needs to go out, the dog still needs to be walked, and the kids will probably still ask for money. Actor and comedian Steve Martin described what it’s like to be a father when he eloquently said, “A father carries pictures where his money used to be.” It’s funny that we might underestimate our parents, and particularly our dads. Mark Twain was no different. He shared, “When I was a boy of 14, my father was so ignorant, I could hardly stand to have the old man around. But when I got to be 21, I was astonished at how much the old man had learned in seven years.”
As Sunday, June 16, approaches, it calls for reflection and appreciation of the contributions of our fathers. We recognize and stand grateful for the love and support and security Dads provide to grow healthy families. For many fathers, fatherhood and raising children are life changing events. President Richard Nixon explained, “To have a father- to be a father- is to come very near the heart of life itself.” This is inarguably true. Of course, as much as kids drive parents crazy, they also melt their hearts. Actor Hugh Jackman once summed it up with this simple description. “When I come home, my daughter will run to the door and give me a big hug, and everything that’s happened that day just melts away.” Happy Father’s Day!