Father's Day 2008

I am not sure when I began to remember celebrating Father's Day. I don't think it was on the national radar then, at least in our community. Mother's Day on the other hand was big. We would wear roses in our collars to church symbolic of the status of your mother: red if she were alive and white if dead. I don't recall doing anything like that for dad's day. But that has changed.

Part of the revelation is "equality" I think. Mothers have always been revered...at least in my community...and they by no means got off easy when it came to cooking, cleaning, washing, sewing as well as kid-care etc. Dads were just there...died young...but just there.

The change came about when it was discovered that fathering was a profession in its own right. Senator B. Obama, today, took dads to task for their part in child rearing. I think informed women know this to be an important link. More than just the final authority in discipline (wait until I tell your dad) fathering is being recognized more today than it used to be. Of course I am talking about fathering "after the fact."

Here we are into the 21st Century some eight years and I am still thinking about fathering...my days of that are "long gone" as Ernie Harwell used to say in his Georgian dialect. But example setting is very much a part of the landscape. I see lots of good dads around me. They may not be model husbands, I don't know the inner workings of their households, but they are good dads.

Suffice it to say good dads, to me are those that teach responsibility and tolerance; that lead by example and that have a soft spot for their kids when times are rough. I especially like to see that in rearing boy children. It goes without saying most dads of daughters have a unique bond; not all, but most in my experience.

Churches do a lot to foster good fathering. I heard our pastor today ( a woman) heap on the praise for good dads and for men in general who try to make a difference in the world. That is an uplifting affirmation. I am not sure about your church, but ours is always looking for ways to uplift others. That is a good thing.

Hamburgers, ice cream cake, kettle chips and pop sicles will be the order of the day as we celebrate Father's Day shortly here in Oregon. Thanks to all the women in my life that made me look so good.