On being a Dad

Editorial note: This entry may start off sounding cynical. Rest assured, it is anything but.

I've never been one to make a big deal of Father's Day. I don't believe in ignoring the things that matter for months on end, then saving up a bunch of store-bought sentiment so that it can be rapidly expressed over the course of one overcommercialized day.

Like Mother's Day, Valentine's Day, and so many other so-called "events" that were created by vendors to guilt us into buying more stuff we don't need, Father's Day as a calendar event has devolved into a rather meaningless point on the calendar.

Which is really too bad, because I had an incredibly fulfilling day with my family today. They let me sleep in really late. Then my wife made breakfast for us all and served it on our china (I love that set...I'll write about it sometime. But I digress.) Then it was outside to the deck to enjoy my gifts - an unbelievably comfortable adirondack chair and a table - and play out on the back lawn. Later on, we went to Storybook Gardens (click on the Flickr link to the right for more pics from the day) and had dinner out before carting our now-exhausted kids home for bath and tuck-in.

It was the kind of day that parents everywhere cherish, for it reminds us why we kill ourselves during the week, and why we stay up late nights, every night, working ourselves to the bone so that their future will be brighter.

Father's Day lasts for but one day. Next weekend, we'll try to recreate the same kind of magic that my wife, our kids and I enjoyed today. As I understand it, we don't need Hallmark to tell us that special days can happen any old time we wish.