That may be me in the picture, learning with my little brother the fine art of hammering stuff, though it’s the kind of scene that plays itself out every day all across the world: a dad patiently coaching his boys when clearly it would be easier to do the thing himself. But such dads aren’t as interested in the things they’re building as much as the future dads they’re building.
In the aftermath of the day of celebrating dads, a flurry of posts have emerged that demonstrate how much dads have made a big impact on our own dadness in the MDB community. Here are some highlights about how we feel not only about our dads, but our own responsibilities of being dads.
“Me: I can’t believe I have a patch of gray hair.
Anna: You have gray hair, Daddy? That means you’re old. (starts getting upset) I don’t want you to get old!
Me: I’m not that old, sweetie. I’m just a little bit old.
Wife: (pointing at my head in the mirror) See? It’s a patch.
Anna: You’re going to die soon.
Me and wife: ….?
Anna: (Starts singing) You’re going to die soon, you’re going to die soon…
I don’t think there’s any better way to celebrate father’s day than to have your eldest daughter sing a song about how ‘you’re going to die soon’ upon hearing about your first patch of gray hair.” Josh Weed, The Weed (read Father’s Day Song)
“My sweet wife must be just a wee bit disturbed that I have resurrected what she views as a seemingly superficial appreciation for the Three Stooges after at least a decade of dormancy. She overlooked my mania for the three kings of slapstick comedy when we started our lives together back in ’84. As I have grown in the Gospel and in life, she probably assumed that I had matured out of that immature phase, and graduated to more settled, approved entertainment options such as soap operas and grisly crime dramas. However, I never really abandoned the Three Stooges; I just emotionally buried them for awhile, waiting for the right moment. Father’s Day 2011 is that right moment.” Richard Tait, Mormon Third Eye (read I See… A Mormon Third Eye Father’s Day Special! Serious Silliness: How the Three Stooges Blesses the Lives of Men of the Church
“Alas, my kids are stuck with me for their father. I don’t do sports and I’m no superhero. But I do try to be a good father. On occasion I actually succeed.” Scott Hinrichs, Reach Upward (read A Dad, Not a Superhero)
“Fathers, remember back in high school when we were on a sports team and we had to do two, and some times even three-a-day practices? They were hard. But in the end, after the buzzer sounded, the whistle blew and the game was over, all that roughness paid off.
“Having Macey home is a three-a-day (actually its more like an all-day) practice. But she is here. She is healthy. She the prettiest thing, next to her mom, that I have ever seen. She is 8 pounds and 10 ounces of pure joy. She is the light of our home. Its a good rough.” Scott Bagley, Macey n’ Me (read Best Father’s Day Gift Ever)
“Is that really so much to ask? One day a year when we don’t look at deadbeats or abusers and instead look at the good guys and say, ‘You rock!’ Not, ‘You need to do better,’ or make nudge-nudge-wink-wink jokes about how goofily sweet and clueless dads are. I think dads deserve better than that.” Braden Bell (read Happy Father’s Day, With No Qualifications or Guilt Trips)
“My dad always kept his ties tied. ‘Tie ‘em once and you’re done,’ was his motto. At the end of the day he’d loosen his tie, slip it over his head and hang it on his tie rack. Now I see a couple of my boys doing the same thing.” Kevin Beckstrom, Beckstrom Buzz (read Family Ties, or Thanks, Dad!)
Abel Keogh posted a link to maybe the best father-son scene in all of moviedom. Be sure to visit Father’s and Sons.
“Harry Potter’s parents are dead and his aunt and uncle are horrible. Luke Skywalker’s dad became a Sith Lord. Katniss’ mom was a vegetable for a while.
“The litany of media that portrays families as dysfunctional and broken and populated by selfish jerks is long and irritating, because I don’t think it’s fair. I think there are far more families that are trying hard to stay together and be a loving family than there are these other types.” Jared Garrett (read A Celebration of Fathers)
“In the hundreds of Sunday School lessons and Seminary classes that he will attend but rarely pay attention to, may there be something that sticks. May there be enough seeds planted that faith eventually fills his being.
“Give him strength to never accept the offered beer or cigarette, or myriad other substances that he is taught to avoid. May the Ginger Ale or the 2-liter Mountain Dew be the extent of his binge drinking.
“During his teen years when he likes me about as much as anyone likes BO, help me, Lord, to be patient and compassionate that I not give up. He needs his father.” Bitner, Modern Mormon Men (read A Mormon Father’s Prayer For His Son)
And last, but not least: In The Art of Manliness, Brett McKay shares with us his take on the 12 Best Movies About Fatherhood.
