The Special Day

They say that it is not that difficult to become a father, but it is infinitely more difficult to be a good dad. Very well said! And it is for that reason that every year since 1972, fathers have enjoyed one day when everyone at least pretends to recognize their importance in the lives of their families. And even though all the fathers know perfectly well that this attention is short-lived, we still bask in its glory and play along, celebrating and showing appreciation to our family members for recognizing our masculinity. We know that the very next day everyone will get back to calling us ‘useless’ and all the commercials will once again portray us as dumb and immature.

And speaking of the commercials, seriously – just try to compare the ones ahead of the day vs. the rest of the year. Just before Father’s Day, we see Dick’s Sporting Goods presenting beautiful golf clubs for dad to enjoy and Home Depot encouraging families to purchase dad’s favorite power tools. The moment the day is over, we are back to seeing men that are so dumb they can’t even work a dishwasher. We see images of men as total idiots who only want to watch sports and drink beer, inept and incapable of anything else and only surviving in their homes due to the mercy of their wives.

Did you see the one by Cascade Detergent, basically telling us that guys don’t know how to wash dishes so you’d better use Cascade Gel plugs? And the one by Huggies that essentially states that their diapers are so reliable, you could put them on a baby and leave them alone with dad for a few hours! And my personal favorite is when Doug, the main character in the hit show “The King of Queens”, finds the scissors after his wife explains to him that he does have a brain and could do certain things on his own.

Hey, the truth is – we don’t mind being made fun of, it’s perfectly ok, as long as it gives women a chance to smile – which is all we ultimately want. We know that we are nothing more than dumb animals, and we are not entirely sure why women put up with us in the first place. And if we only get one day a year to be praised, that’s ok – men are simple and most of us are easy to please. A few smiles and a golf club we get on Father’s Day are good enough to last us the entire year, giving us hope that we might still be tolerated by the next Father’s Day.

Happy Father’s Day to all!