- The Strange Him Newsletter
- Posts
- Father's Day
Father’s Day
Celebrating fathers?
According to the History Channel’s website the first Father’s Day holiday was celebrated in Spokane, Washington on June 19, 1910 but was 62 years before it Father’s Day became a nationally recognized holiday. The appreciation for fathers did not have the same appeal as there was for mothers in the United States. During the early 1900’s Mother’s Day was almost instantly adopted and celebrated by the people of the United States with no hesitation. In 1914 Woodrow Wilson approved a resolution that made Mother’s Day the second Sunday in May that would honor “that tender, gentle army, the mothers of America.”
Father’s Day did not garner the same appeal as Mother’s Day did, early on, mainly because as a florist put it “fathers haven’t the same sentimental appeal that mothers have.” According to Lawrence R. Samuel, the author of American Fatherhood: A Cultural History, men roles were different for the family during the early 20th century as compared to the modern-day roles of the father. Until the middle of that century the role of the father was provider, director, leader, and protector of the family, so when it came to supporting a day that promoted and hallowed fatherhood, the idea was seemingly ridiculous, when it was mothers who lived the unappreciated life. Also, hindering the adoration of Father’s Day’s was the lack of interest MEN had when it came to being used as pawn to pad the money box of retailers, and as history shows, were not scared to let this be known. As one historian noted “(MEN) scoffed at the holiday’s sentimental attempts to domesticate manliness with flowers and gift-giving, or they derided the proliferation of such holidays as a commercial gimmick to sell more products-often paid for by the father himself”. So, with all the pushback from MEN, it wasn’t until 1972 that Richard Nixon signed a proclamation making the third Sunday of June.
I find it quite ironic one of the reasons MEN did not embrace Father’s Day was because of their refusal of letting their manhood be diluted by “domestic manliness”. I have never heard of “domestic manliness” but we will dive deeper into that topic next week.
My Father’s Day
Father’s Day for many years was hard for me personally, as I lost my father when I was the young age of 8. That has been 44 years ago this August. Everyone has heard, “Time heals all wounds”. This is very true, but the scar will always be there will always still be a hole that is never completely filled. Father’s Day has now changed for me in recent years though. My son, now 20 years old,is again starting to want to be around his old dad more and more. When he was a young boy, he was always wanting “all of us” (his family) to do something “fun” for Father’s Day. Once he hit his teens, and especially after he began to drive, he would have his own thing going on and he would hardly be seen on Mother’s Day or Father’s Day. I am thankful of this new companionship. He has always been an old soul and family is part of his being and he truly embraces “family”. I am truly blessed with the son God blessed me with and the young man he is becoming. He and I have recently began projects that have brought us closer together and I am thankful he wants (sometimes needs) my help, although he does think I am the worst person to work with/for because he says I don’t engage in conversation enough. True enough, I would rather just listen to him talk about his goings on. He did get his talking ability from his momma, which will probably benefit him greatly later on in life. Even though I have my shortcomings as a dad, somehow our connection seems different…stronger somehow and is continuing to get stronger. For this I am thankful. I look forward to spending all day with him this year for my Father’s Day. His life has truly help to patch that hole in mine.
Your Father’s Day…Your Relationship
Hopefully all of you can experience the joys of raising a child. Some of you are raising children, some of you are wanting children. Some of you will not have children but I will venture to say their is or will be a niece, nephew, friend’s kid, neighbor’s kid...that you will make an impression on and somehow leave your mark. The rest of this will be written as “your” child but all of us can be the best we can be for those young lives we come in contact with, even if they are not our own flesh and blood. That said, if you give of yourself and pour your life into that kid, you will always be the best MAN you can be for them. There are times that you will be mad as a hornet…there will be times you are disappointed in your kid’s action(s)…there will be times that you and your kid will not see eye to eye. The one thing that will not change is you are still their parent, and they are still your child. Don’t ever take that for granted. Cherish every moment. Take it from someone who has walked this earth for more years than I want to think about trying to fill that hole that opened up when my dad died. I promised myself early on that if I had a child, for as long as the Lord sees fit for me to continue walking this earth, I was going to be involved in my child’s life. Be the MAN your child will look up to, will seek guidance in, will know you will do your best to not steer them wrong, will know you will protect them with your life, and take care of them as best as you possibly can. Too many men take this responsibility lightly. Your child is your legacy. How will your legacy affect this world? Will your legacy be instrumental in changing the world for the better? I hope mine will. I will not be remembered for having a lot of money or a lot of land or the finest of cars or watches or golf clubs…but…hopfully I will be remembered through my son. I want my legacy to go on and do great things but at the same time I pray the bearer of that legacy is humble, kind, thankful and is giving person. If you are not a HUGE part of your kid’s life, more often than not, you are the one that will diminish your legacy. Be the MAN your kid(s) needs you to be. Be the MAN your kid(s) become.
Guilty Plug
If you like this content and know another man who might also, please refer The Strange Him newsletter to him. A true MAN in this day and age is truly a strange thing. Stay strange my friend!
For referrals please direct them to the following website to where they can subscribe…you can even email them this newsletter. To grow this newsletter your help is needed and appreciated.
/
EXTRA GOODS
Go to church or go find a church…Together as a Family for Father’s Day!
Father Time is Always Lurking.
Spend time with your kids. Dont let Father Time rob you of those special moments. The following is just a shot in the arm to get you thinking about some of the things that you and your kid can do together. After you read this, go to www.allprodad.com and check out that site. This dude is doing good work.
10 Things Dads and Kids Should Experience Together - All Pro Dad
The amount of time parents have with their children is short. All Pro Dad shares 10 things every father and child should experience together.
Be a better dad..physically!
If you are going to get out and do things with your kid(s)..explore, hike, play sports, hunt, fish…almost anything you can think of that means you have to get out of your lazy chair and make yourself a better you…while you help other men do the same thing.
F3 Nation - Fitness | Fellowship | Faith ®
F3 is a national network of free, peer-led workouts for men. Our mission is to plant, grow and serve small workout groups for men for the invigoration of male community leadership.
Try Something New the Whole Family Can Do!
Try rucking. Rucking is a great way to get in shape but you can start with nothing more than a backpack with just a little weight in it. You can ruck anywhere. Go to the beach and ruck…Go to the mountains and ruck…Go to the park and ruck. Literally the limits are unbounded. Also, the more people you ruck with, the more fun you will have. For this reason alone it would be a great activity to do with your family. Read here to find out the benefits of rucking.
Start Rucking
GORUCK builds the best, toughest rucking gear to equip the rucking revolution — we force multiply through training, Events, and GORUCK Clubs that empower real world communities in service to something greater than themselves.
Something Different!
This is definitely on my Father’s Day bucket list. If your close or have some time to travel, this might be something to check out!
Father’s Day BBQ Train
Happy Father’s Day! Bring your dad and the family to ride through the countryside while enjoying a BBQ meal catered by Weidners BBQ.
Reply