I've come to love the third Sunday in June. A day to celebrate dads.
Mostly I love it because I am a dad but also because it's sort of a holiday for the underdog. Dad. The other parent.
Comedian Chris Rock has a bit about fathers. He says, "What does daddy get for all his work? The big piece of chicken! That's all daddy get. Is the big piece of chicken."
Mom gets love, honor and respect. Dad gets the big piece of chicken.
In 1914, President Woodrow Wilson made Mother's Day a holiday to honor, "that tender, gentle army, the mothers of America."
That's lovely.
That was 1914. You want to know when Father's Day became an official nationwide holiday? 1972. And Nixon signed it.
What do we buy mom on Mother's Day? Flowers. Lots of beautiful flowers that show our love.
What do we get dad on Father's Day? I don't know? A tie? I always got my dad an Old Spice soap-on-a-rope.
For Mother's Day, the average person spends about $200 on a gift.
For Father's Day $119.
According to Marketwatch, these are the most popular gifts for dad:
A special outing like a sporting event or dinner. Not this year.
An electronic gadget. That's fine, I guess.
Clothing. There's that tie.
A gift card. Because you have no idea what to get him.
And a home improvement or gardening tool. Happy Father's Day, Dad, get to work.
I know for some of you, your dad was no good. He was bad to your mom. He left.
And I'm not talking about those dads here.
I'm talking about the dads who were there, who are there. Who take care of their families and take care of what needs taking care of.
Still, even those dads get a bad rap. That they work too much. That they're tired when they are home.
Can I let you in on a little secret, kids? We work too much to make sure you have the very best life we can give you.
Take my word for it, if it weren't for you we would not work this hard.
And you know why we're tired? Because of all that work we're doing... for you.
The lessons we learn from our fathers sink in differently than lessons we learn from others.
From my dad, I learned how to give firm handshake and look the person in the eye. I remember practicing shaking hands with him in the living room.
I learned you have to finish your work before doing anything that's unnecessary.
And that you have to work for what you get. You can't ever count on a gift.
From my step-dad, I learned that you can outwork nearly any obstacle. There were a lot of work lessons in my life.
My step-dad also taught me that the commitments you make matter.
And from neither man did I learn how to fix a car.
So to the new dads, the dads-to-be and the veterans, to the work-from-home and the stay-at-home dads, to the retired dads and those who punch a clock ... to the adopted dads, foster dads and step-dads, to the dads who travel and always come home ... to those who fight for our country or fight traffic to and from the office ... to those nearby and those far away ... to my dad and step-dad and to yours, Happy Father's Day.
I hope you like the tie.
