Ironically, Sonora Smart Dodd can be rightly credited as the Mother of Father’s Day. From her home in Spokane, Washington it was she who made the call to remember fathers – on a special day. The holiday she successfully promoted was celebrated by the entire State of Washington on 6/19/1910. From her perspective and time – early in the new century – she could not have foreseen the positive effect she would have on the marketing of cheap cologne, gaudy ties and soap on a rope. As children, we all experienced the doubt and confusion that arose with the question: what should we get for Dad?
We all had a working list of gifts to thank Dad for all he did for us. From golf balls to driving gloves, the list was considered and reconsidered before we gave up and bought soap on a rope. What was easy to understand was the fact that Dad deserved some swag for all that he’d done. Dad was a figure of power and if he was a “good dad,” he was a source of caring that we often visited in times of doubt and fear.
Sigmund Freud understood the role of Dad very well when he wrote, ” I can not think of any need in childhood as strong as the need for a father’s protection.” Whether one’s father was a saint or a reprobate most of us received some form of protection. The best fathers protected us emotionally, physically and spiritually. They protected us economically, as well. Many were not so lucky. Their fathers were absentees or, frankly, unknown but for those of us blessed by a father’s presence a natural sense of debt arises. What gift is great enough to recompense the man who killed the monsters under your bed? He paid for the Cheerios and helped you with the bullies and it is not likely that you can forget that.
As a father, I can say that the greatest day in a man’s life is the day children are born. It is an opportunity to be a hero, a playmate, a tutor and a host of other wonderful things that has miraculously appeared in you life. It changes everything. Did you ever think that soap on a rope would be your favorite possession? When your son or daughter proudly presents you with whatever absurd Fathers Day gift they have chosen, your idea of what is rare and precious will change forever.
Life will cause some of us to miss our own fathers on this important day. Yet, we carry on in our own fatherhood – for better or worse – with what they showed and taught us. There is a day when you find yourself using a line or a joke that came directly from Dad and you hope that someday your greatest hits will come from the lips of your own kids. Just the good stuff, of course.
So I wonder what I will get this time…perhaps a new belt or a money clip or a few kind words. Whatever it is I know it will be a pearl beyond price.
Happy Fathers Day.
Olio Folio 