Rant #2,395: Daddy's Home

Happy Father's Day Friday!

We just have to get through the next two days, and we will come to the holiest day of the year, in my humble opinion.

It is the greatest day of the year for dads, who are part of the parental equation, even though some factions believe we are not.

Without what we possess in our bodies--and without what we provide to children later on as they mature and grow--the true family does not exist, no matter how hard some factions rant just the opposite viewpoint.

But whatever the case, Sunday is Father's Day, and I will be holding the "Father of All Barbecues" on this day. I will have a house full of people over to celebrate the day--actual fathers and grandfathers, as well as honorary fathers and potential fathers--and hopefully the weather will hold up for me to grill all of those hamburgers, franks and other stuff to the delight of our guests.

To discuss the importance of Father's Day to me and other fathers, I would like to go back to what I said in Rant #984, June 14, 2013.  Here goes, in edited form:

"This Sunday is Father's Day, and in my family, we call this the holiest day of the year.

Or at least the men in the family call it that.

It is the day to celebrate fathers and all they do for our society.

Fathers often get knocked for not doing the right thing, but fathers are important to the very framework of the family.

In the old days, it was the father who "brought home the bacon" to the rest of the family.

Today, in two-salary households, it is less so than it was a generation ago, but fathers continue to work hard and provide for their families.

I was lucky, because my father is and was solid as a rock.

He worked hard, did what he had to do with his kids, and earned the right to call Father's Day the holiest day of the year.

I have tried to follow in my father's footsteps. I work hard, do what I have to do with my kids, and I think I have earned the right to call the day the holiest day of the year too.

But my path was different than my dad's was.

I went through a divorce, and that disrupts how much influence I had on my daughter.

I have been a father since 1988, and I cherish the moment my daughter was born on the morning of May 15.

But it is really hard to parent over the phone when your child is not living with you and you are only seeing her every other week.

But that is what I went through with my daughter, and although we are on friendly terms, I don't think our bond is as strong as other fathers have with their daughters.

And that bothers me to no end.

When I remarried and my son was born in 1995, it was like I was given a second chance at being a father, and I have run with it since that day, on August 23, when he was born.

I have been his Little League coach, have gone to school meetings, have helped him with his homework, and I think I have done everything possible to being a good dad.

I hope he sees it that way.

So happy Father's Day to all you dads out there.

Even though we are often drubbed as not being around, and when we are around, clueless about what is going on, there may be nothing more important than the bond between a child and his parents.

And that includes fathers.

So have a nice barbecue, have a nice dinner or brunch, and relax on Sunday.

It is our day to do whatever we want to do.

And we deserve it, we really do."

Yes, we do deserve a great day, a single day reserved just for us each and every year to honor the male part of the parental equation.

So to all you fathers, grandfathers, great grandfathers, potential fathers and honorary fathers, have a great day, and a great weekend. I will speak to you again on Monday.