Showing Some Love For Great Dads

Happy Father's Day to all the wonderful dads out there! I am and will forever be a daddy's girl, so for all you men putting in the hours with your children, I salute you. You just don't realize how much all those gestures of love and affection are worth.

Having had a wonderful dad, and having watched my own husband become a great father, I must say there is a difference between mom and dad. No, it isn't that mom cooks dinner and dad wear's the tool belt and mechanic's cap. But, there is something to be observed in that, often, moms are trying so hard to be as close to the Betty Crocker Cookbook/Parenting magazine as possible, while dads are just rolling with the flow. I'm not saying this is a rigid box that all moms and dads fit into, but I think there is some truth to my thought. In my experience:

  • Great dads are completely okay with serving popsicles for breakfast. If that is what the child asks for on Saturday morning, then so be it. One popsicle breakfast will not cause the health and well-being of said child to go into a downward death spiral. If it's a fruit juice pop? Well hey, we have practically dined on health food!
  • Great dads are apt to allow the 3-year-old to go to preschool in cowboy boots, cut-off jean shorts and a ratty Spiderman t-shirt with a hole in the arm pit. Child is dressed, at school AND happy about it. Job accomplished. Children don't need to look like a model for The Children's Place 24/7.
  • Great dads, when left with the sleepover crew will not only start the mega monster pillow fight, but  may possibly be responsible for the broken candle holder you find upon your return. While you lament over the jagged remains of your very chic design accessory, dad is now sporting the "cool" title and all the children love him.

Lest you think that I am passing off dad's role in the household as a care-free festival of fun and games, let's be serious for a moment.

Fatherhood carries great responsibility.

For those of you men who have boys, be aware that those little guys are looking to you as to what it means to be spiritual leader, devoted husband and nurturing dad. The men they will someday become will rely heavily on the example that was lived before them year after year.

And for those of you who have little girls, the man she one day marries may very well have everything to do with you. If you treasured her, showed her that she is a woman of great worth, has value, and deserves to be treated as such, then that's probably what she's going to go looking for in her future husband. Boys that treat her badly won't be worth the time of day because she'll know she deserves better than that.

When we were at Summit, there was one young man who had spent most of his childhood in an orphanage. Never adopted into a home, he grew up and ventured out into the world. He went to college, started a career, and by all means is a success story. But there was one thing he shared that just broke my heart. He explained that he is afraid to get married and start his own family because he never learned what is was like to be in one. He couldn't give what he didn't know.

How precious are the men in our lives who accept the call to raise up the future men and women in our world.

So, come Sunday morning, give them a hug, tell them you love them, and praise them for a job well done. They deserve the support. They need the encouragement. Keep going all you great dads out there. Little eyes see what you do. You're shaping the future. You're making a difference.

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