My third Father’s Day is in the books (well, almost). I’m always a little unsure as to exactly what to do on Father’s Day. The question always comes: “What do you want to do?” And, I never know. My inclination is to want a day off. Completely. Just do absolutely nothing. No diaper changes. No responsibility. Sit on the couch, watch sports and be totally excused from any sort of chores for the day. But, then…it never really works out that way. And, I probably don’t want it that way.
There was a time when I wanted to use the day for a long motorcycle ride. Since I don’t have the bike anymore, however, that didn’t/couldn’t happen. Ultimately, Father’s Day is about being a father, right? So, it doesn’t really seem to make much sense to spend it away from the very people that make you said father – your kid(s) and partner. As a result, I think the perfect Father’s Day is some sort of mix of time to do whatever you want (with or without the family) and lots of time with the family.
And, that’s just what I set out to do.
The day started off better than expected, with K-Man sleeping until 8:30! Eight-freaking-thirty. That alone may be the greatest gift he could have ever given me. (Oh, and speaking of gifts – marketers and the media do a WAY better job of figuring out what to give moms for Mother’s Day than they do dads. Mom gets pampered with spa treatments. Dad gets…a tie. So cliché.)
But, I digress…
Waking up late was followed by breakfast at my favorite greasy spoon, a whole lot of errands in preparation for a HUGE business trip I have coming up tomorrow (more on that…tomorrow) and plenty of time crashed on the couch watching the U.S. Open and U.S. National Soccer team. Sleeping in, breakfast and the U.S. stomping Barbados in the first World Cup Qualifier would have been enough to call it a perfect day, but we were barely getting started.
Obviously, this Father’s Day was more loaded with emotion than most, as it was G’s first Father’s Day without her dad. As a result, we decided to head up the mountain with K-Man and G’s mom to not only celebrate Father’s Day, but also continue to celebrate Felix. Since Felix was a wine aficionado, we brought a bottle of awesome, amazing, indescribable wine (from Arista Winery in the Russian River Valley). As the sun started to go down, we toasted Felix and watched K-Man run through the tall grasses calling, “Look at me, Daddy!”
After drinking our wine and enjoying a picnic (an eclectic mix of sushi, chicken, salad, bread and cheese), we started back down the mountain. The day was coming to a close. We dropped off G’s mom and got home in time to give K-Man a short bath and put him to bed (G got the reading honors, per K-Man’s request). I finished off the night with a small Cuban cigar and packed for my trip. (Again, more on that later.)
All in all – a very good day. Not all that different from most weekend days, but that’s okay. In fact, that’s exactly how it should be. I don’t need any kind of special day to be reminded that I’m a dad.
There was a time when I wanted to use the day for a long motorcycle ride. Since I don’t have the bike anymore, however, that didn’t/couldn’t happen. Ultimately, Father’s Day is about being a father, right? So, it doesn’t really seem to make much sense to spend it away from the very people that make you said father – your kid(s) and partner. As a result, I think the perfect Father’s Day is some sort of mix of time to do whatever you want (with or without the family) and lots of time with the family.
And, that’s just what I set out to do.
The day started off better than expected, with K-Man sleeping until 8:30! Eight-freaking-thirty. That alone may be the greatest gift he could have ever given me. (Oh, and speaking of gifts – marketers and the media do a WAY better job of figuring out what to give moms for Mother’s Day than they do dads. Mom gets pampered with spa treatments. Dad gets…a tie. So cliché.)
But, I digress…
Waking up late was followed by breakfast at my favorite greasy spoon, a whole lot of errands in preparation for a HUGE business trip I have coming up tomorrow (more on that…tomorrow) and plenty of time crashed on the couch watching the U.S. Open and U.S. National Soccer team. Sleeping in, breakfast and the U.S. stomping Barbados in the first World Cup Qualifier would have been enough to call it a perfect day, but we were barely getting started.
Obviously, this Father’s Day was more loaded with emotion than most, as it was G’s first Father’s Day without her dad. As a result, we decided to head up the mountain with K-Man and G’s mom to not only celebrate Father’s Day, but also continue to celebrate Felix. Since Felix was a wine aficionado, we brought a bottle of awesome, amazing, indescribable wine (from Arista Winery in the Russian River Valley). As the sun started to go down, we toasted Felix and watched K-Man run through the tall grasses calling, “Look at me, Daddy!”
After drinking our wine and enjoying a picnic (an eclectic mix of sushi, chicken, salad, bread and cheese), we started back down the mountain. The day was coming to a close. We dropped off G’s mom and got home in time to give K-Man a short bath and put him to bed (G got the reading honors, per K-Man’s request). I finished off the night with a small Cuban cigar and packed for my trip. (Again, more on that later.)
All in all – a very good day. Not all that different from most weekend days, but that’s okay. In fact, that’s exactly how it should be. I don’t need any kind of special day to be reminded that I’m a dad.
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