To Fathers on Father’s Day

Fathers don’t get breakfast in bed.  They get perfunctory greetings and cards with ties and golf balls on the front.  Fathers get grills and lawn mowers and bike racks for presents.  They get brief hugs as kids run back to play and wives go back to life’s chores.  Fathers may get brunch or lunch at a restaurant everyone has to agree on.  There are no decorated pancakes or flowers in a vase.  Fathers go back to their yard work, car repairs, home depot runs.

Here’s the thing, though.  If you have a father that is an important part of your life or a husband who loves his children and honors you, you are incredibly blessed.  I know this because I have both.  I have a father who was always there, loved me, loved my mother.  Did everything to make sure we were ok.  He was always there and that was enough.

I have a husband who takes care of me, who loves our children, who is there day in and day out making sure ours is a good life.  Both of these men are what a father should be and that means everything.  Fathers are integral to a happy home.  Fathers are the foundation not the house.  They are the roots not the tree.

Yes, we mothers get flowers and a day in bed and fancy restaurants.  We mothers get kisses and hugs and cuddles for hours.  But a good father gets our souls.  They are the ones that make the life we lead possible.  They make it ok to cry in the middle of the night.  They make a run to the grocery store an adventure.  They make nightmares disappear with their strong presence and soothing deep voices.

Fathers don’t get fanfare and balloons, but they should.  They deserve everything we have to give because they’ve given everything for us.