Father’s Day gets the short shrift when it rolls around
Father’s Day is coming up fast, and it’s the kind of holiday,
unfortunately, that a lot of people forget about until the last
minute.
Mother’s Day kind of gets all the glory, and Father’s Day is
more like an afterthought. Also, most of us are running around like
maniacs at the end of May and beginning of June because of Memorial
Day, the endless end-of-school activities, graduations and the
like.
So when Father’s Day comes along, on the third Sunday in June,
it’s a bit anticlimactic.
Father’s Day gets the short shrift when it rolls around
Father’s Day is coming up fast, and it’s the kind of holiday, unfortunately, that a lot of people forget about until the last minute.
Mother’s Day kind of gets all the glory, and Father’s Day is more like an afterthought. Also, most of us are running around like maniacs at the end of May and beginning of June because of Memorial Day, the endless end-of-school activities, graduations and the like.
So when Father’s Day comes along, on the third Sunday in June, it’s a bit anticlimactic.
Father’s Day is getting especially short shrift with me this year because my father is not even in the country. He’s in eastern Canada with my mother. So I won’t be doing anything for him – at least, not upon this particular Sunday. When he gets back, I will.
I was trying to figure out what a proper Father’s Day celebration would be – that is, if Dad were here. And I couldn’t come up with much of anything.
All I could think of was what it shouldn’t be.
I know, that sounds a little weird. But every time I thought of something, I came up with three or four reasons why it wouldn’t work.
First off, I considered taking my dad to the movies. Never mind the fact that he hasn’t been to the movies in at least five years, just because he’d rather stay home and watch something on TV.
But then I had to ask myself: What in the world would I take him to?
Not “Shrek Forever After.” Not “Iron Man 2.” Not “Splice.” And certainly not “Sex and the City 2.”
There really isn’t anything in the theaters right now that would be suitable for a 50-year-old woman and her 77-year-old father.
So movies are out. Then I thought about taking him to a nice restaurant. That’s always a good idea, except that we always go to restaurants, so it’s not exactly original. Plus Dad always worries about gaining weight, or eating too much salt, or fat, or something.
And I would have a lot of trouble wrestling the check away from him. He doesn’t like to give it up.
I suppose I could go golfing with him. My dad loves to golf and is out on some course or other at least a few times a week. However, he doesn’t lack for golf partners, and I would be sadly inferior to any of them.
Not only that, I tend to be rather dangerous on the golf course. When I smack the ball, it just wants to make a beeline for car windows and people’s heads. I don’t do well on golf courses.
So golfing is probably out, too.
What else is there? Well, hockey season is over, or I’d take him to a Sharks game. Or at least watch a Sharks’ game with him.
We could go for a walk together, but that seems kind of dull.
Possibly there’s another activity out there we could enjoy together, but since he will have just returned from a long trip, he probably won’t be hankering to do anything too long or strenuous.
Luckily, I can always fall back on a tried-and-true formula.
I will probably do what I almost always do for my dad on Father’s Day: get him a funny card and a book on history. We share a deep and abiding love of books, and the bonus part is, I’ll get to borrow the book from him eventually and read it myself.
It may not be the most memorable way to celebrate Father’s Day, but it works for us.
