Father's Day Wishes

The father bond is much different from the mother bond, in my mind described by words like:

• Integrity
• Strength
• Resolve
• Compassion
• Love
• Honesty

I know I learned those things from my father, and from Beth's Dad as well.  Though they are not of this world, they live on in us.  Happy Father's Day. 

Give your Dad, Father, Papa... a call and/or hug today :o)

Father's Day is a day honoring fathers and celebrating fatherhood, paternal bonds, and the influence of fathers in society. It is celebrated on the third Sunday of June in 55 countries and on other days elsewhere.

The first observance of Father's Day is believed to have been held on June 19, 1910 through the efforts of Sonora Smart Dodd of Spokane, Washington. After listening to a church sermon at Spokane's Central Methodist Episcopal Church in 1909 about the newly recognized Mother's Day, Dodd felt strongly that fatherhood needed recognition, as well.  She wanted a celebration that honored fathers like her own father, William Smart, a Civil War veteran who was left to raise his family alone when his wife died giving birth to their sixth child when Sonora was 16 years old.

A bill to accord national recognition of the holiday was introduced in Congress in 1913.  In 1916, President Woodrow Wilson went to Spokane to speak in a Father's Day celebration and wanted to make it official, but Congress resisted, fearing that it would become commercialized.  US President Calvin Coolidge recommended in 1924 that the day be observed by the nation, but stopped short of issuing a national proclamation. Two earlier attempts to formally recognize the holiday had been defeated by Congress. In 1957, Maine Senator Margaret Chase Smith wrote a proposal accusing Congress of ignoring fathers for 40 years while honoring mothers, thus "[singling] out just one of our two parents" In 1966, President Lyndon Johnson issued the first presidential proclamation honoring fathers, designating the third Sunday in June as Father's Day.  Six years later, the day was made a permanent national holiday when President Richard Nixon signed it into law in 1972.

Hot, Hot, Hot :o)

The last couple of days here have been in the nineties, both temperature and humidity (at least that is the way it feels :o)

I had an appointment yesterday that required non-summer clothes, and that was brutal. Then, I cleared some of the downed limbs around the yard from the midwest storms last week, and mowed a few blades of grass (about 2 acres I think). Needless to say, it was a two shower day :o)

Today was a belated Father's Day celebration (I had to work Sunday). We had both Beth's folks here and my folks (Mom and Stepdad). I had a bit of angst before they got here because I have been calling Beth's Dad, "Dad", but still refer to my Stepdad as Jim (for reasons I will not go into here). Ended up being no issue, because it was like old friends, and there was no need for salutations. Phew!

I was thinking today how lucky Beth and I are, to be at this stage of our life [guess that would be middle age, nooooooooo, the inhumanity...] and have both sets of our folks here with us. Today, sitting and talking, grilling some burgers, talking, talking, and talking, was awesome. It was a fitting Father's Day celebration.

I broke down today and headed to Lowes to get a portable air conditioner for the bedroom (our house does not have central air, and we use a portable in the living room). The window unit is in the garage, behind some garage sale stuff, and it is a royal pain in the arse (that one is for you Simon) to install (pull out the screen, pull out the storm window, get it leveled just right to not condense into the house [failed with this last year], and then re-insert the storm window and tighten everything up). Having the window unit also robs us of the opportunity to open the window and listen to the [stupid] birds. So we decided today to get another portable unit for the bedroom, and it only took about ten minutes to get everything hooked up and secured.

Tomorrow is my Sunday, as I have not been to work since last Sunday, and then it is a four day stint of twelve hour days (plus commute). This is where I chant - I Love My Job, I Love My Job, I Love My Job. Hope you coast into the weekend. And for those readers who are getting ready for a bit of travel, have a great, great, great trip [Love You Man :o)].