“Give it to him, stupid!” I heard one of my kids snap at my youngest daughter as she grabbed the Father’s Day gift from her sister’s hands. The comment was complete, of course, with eyes of steel daggers, and venomous drool flowing from pursed lips. Okay, okay. So I am exaggerating a bit. That was Father’s Day a few years ago.
Father’s Day and Mother’s Day, two days of the year where, for a few blissful moments, we oh, so sweet children come together as the Cleavers did to honor parents that love us and …okay … hear the record scratch yet? Are all families really this way? Sure there may be families out there that share moments like this. Someone even wrote a book about them…they hailed from that sweet lil community called Stepford.
I am definitely not attempting to belittle anyone’s celebration. I will absolutely tell people I know Happy Father’s Day. I told friends and my own mother Happy Mother’s Day. It’s just that I make my mother know that on Mother’s Day (as I did with my father on Father’s Day) that those days shouldn’t be the only days.
Why do I dislike those days so much? I am the oldest of 5 children and there was the normal amount of bickering between us. I enjoyed honoring my parents on those 2 nationally recognized days. My dad would always tell me that he wanted us to honor Father’s Day everyday, not just one day of the year. My mom agreed.
I believe the way my dad did…that Father’s Day (and Mother’s Day) is something that you recognize year ‘round. I love my girls. My kids understand my thinking on the subject and reciprocate, for the most part…I mean kids will be kids…But, celebrations should be a daily (or at least a weekly) joy, not simply a yearly obligation. I don’t mean physical gifting either…kind words, a touch, a smile, or a gesture.
Like I said, kids will be kids…and mine are growing up now. They are learning what I have been taught, what I have heard. I am glad my mom and dad taught me early in life that two days a year just aren't enough.
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