On Father’s Day

Father’s Day is every day.

Father’s Day, the holiday, is a day to celebrate dads with favorite foods and gifts. But, Father’s Day as a concept is so much more.

Father’s Day is the moment you first hold that little one in your arms. It’s the moment he pees on you when changing a diaper. Father’s Day is that first terrifying drive home from the hospital. It’s every bottle, bath and bedtime.

Father’s Day is pasta strewn everywhere but in his mouth. Father’s Day is the first time sharing a bite of pizza or ice cream (or maybe that’s Mother’s Day–looking at you honey). It’s all the spit-up. It’s all the refusing to eat and saying “I don’t like that!” It’s also all the “You should make this again sometime!”

Father’s Day is learning to sit up, learning to crawl (like a peg leg pirate in some cases), and learning to walk. Father’s Day is the first time going to a baseball or soccer game and the hopes for all the games he’ll play. It’s the first time taking him to the golf course. It’s all the backyard baseball. It’s taking just a few moments at the park chasing him around and tossing him in the air.

Father’s Day is a bedtime story. Father’s Day is one more song to help him sleep. It’s movie nights and fireworks. It’s watching him perform another made up show or having a conversation about who knows what. It’s realizing he remembers that special night out and that word you maybe shouldn’t have said while driving.

Fathers Day is potty training success and failure. Father’s Day is scoldings, groundings and lessons explained (and hopefully learned). Father’s Day is every hug. It’s every heartbreak. It’s all the tears and joys. Father’s Day is the moment you see the light in his eyes.

In short, Father’s Day is being there. As I write this, watching my young sons play in our backyard, I marvel at how much they’ve grown and how much more is ahead. I’m told all the time to savor every moment, and I hope I always keep that in mind and in practice.

Father’s Day is a good time to pause and reflect on the father figures who help shape our lives. And, Father’s Day is a day for us to reassess what it means to be a dad.

Father’s Day is every day.