“Being a great father is like shaving. No matter how well you shaved today, you have to do it again tomorrow.” – Reed Markham, educator and author of “Happy Father’s Day: Great Thoughts for Great Fathers”.
Father’s Day is celebrated on the third Sunday in June to recognize the contributions that fathers and father figures make to the lives of their children. Male parenting comes in many forms, from macho dads with medical advice consisting of “rub some dirt on it” to dads dressing up for tea parties and calling each and every stuffed animal and doll by name. Regardless of their parenting style, we hope you enjoy this special day honoring “the old man”, “pops”, or whatever other creative ways you may refer to the fathers in your life.
“Celebrating the Love of our Father” by Rita Itsell
The love of a father stays with us whether we are celebrating memories of them on this special day or they are here to participate in our day-to-day lives.
Last month, I took a trip with my family to remember the awesome person our father was on the 15-year anniversary of his passing. We shared so many great stories that made us smile and cry. But in all we remembered those things he taught us either unknowingly or forcefully (he was Italian). He taught us how to explore and not be afraid. We loved the outdoors and became better at identifying a tarantula or snake than knowing the name of the most popular video game. He set the example of working hard for what you want to achieve. He was up at 2 am every morning to prepare for his 12-hour work day and home before we got back from school. He never let on that it would be easy to earn a living and stressed the importance of managing what you did earn wisely. He was never shy to challenge us (this is where the forcefully comes in) on whether we needed to be spending money on something we thought we had to have but really we didn’t need. But most of all his love for teaching us was natural and simple like the many times my sister and I would stand atop his feet while he was holding our hands and showing us how to dance to “The Ventures – Tequila”.
Thank you for teaching us to not be afraid to explore life with a positive attitude and love. Love you, Dad!
History of Father’s Day
- The first Father’s Day celebration was on June 19, 1910 and was originally conceived by Sonora Dodd of Spokane, Washington after hearing a Mother’s Day sermon at her church. She sought to honor her father, William Smart, a widowed Civil War veteran who raised his children on a farm after his wife passed away during the birth of their sixth child.
- In 1924, President Calvin Coolidge made it a national event to “establish more intimate relations between fathers and their children and to impress upon fathers the full measure of their obligations.”
- Father’s Day was not signed into public law as a permanent national holiday until President Richard Nixon did so in 1972 (58 years after Mother’s Day in 1914).
“My friends are worried they’re turning into their fathers. I’m worried I’m not.”– Dan Zevin, comic and author of “Dan Gets a Minivan: Life at the Intersection of Dude and Dad”
Fathers by the Numbers
- There are an estimated 72 million fathers in the United States. 29 million men are also grandfathers. There are now 2 million single fathers (no spouse present) raising their children under age 18. 19% of single parents are men. Approximately 267,000 men are stay-at-home dads (an increase of 20%+ over the last few years). (Source: US Census Bureau)
- An estimated $12.7 billion is spent on Father’s Day. $21 billion is spent on Mother’s Day (65% more than on Father’s Day).
- Father’s Day is the 4th biggest day for sending greeting cards (90 million) after Christmas (1.6 billion), Valentine’s Day (145 million), and Mother’s Day (133 million). (50% more Mother’s Day cards are sent than Father’s Day cards). (Source: Greeting Card Association)
“By the time a man realizes that maybe his father was right, he usually has a son who thinks he’s wrong.” – Charles Wadsworth, a classical pianist
“When I was a boy of 14, my father was so ignorant, I could hardly stand to have the old man around. But when I got to be 21, I was astonished at how much the old man had learned in seven years.” – Mark Twain
Happy Father’s Day from all of us at PDS!