We had kind of a strange summer. According to the family, that may be the biggest understatement of the year. Normally our summer consists of me going to every baseball game ever played and my family left to decide who has to go with dad to keep him out of trouble.

This year we had a much different set of plans. Oh sure there was still countless baseball games but we intermixed other activities as well. Trina and Whitney had girls camp and Dakota is now old enough to go to Boy Scout camp. We also had the occasional soccer tournament that we had to attend.

Mallorie and Tiffany were both away at college and would not return home until nearly August 1. Just before Father’s Day I came home with a wild idea that we should go and visit Ashey and Eli and while we were in the neighborhood we should go see Mallorie and Tiffany. Oh and did I mention that we should do this in the next 48 hours?

This suggestion completely freaked everyone out and they scrambled to get everything ready to go on a trip. It just so happened that the day we left happened to fall on Father’s Day. Because of the mad dash to get packed; the traditional Father’s Day celebration fell by the wayside.

Trina and the kids had gotten gifts and wrapped them but in the rush out the door the gifts were left in the family room. The vacation although short was fun and we were able to accomplish nearly everything we had planned.

When we arrived home it was late and we rushed to unload the car and get some rest before heading back to work the next day. The Father’s Day gifts sat patiently on the table in the family room and somehow they were forgotten.

Today we happened to be cleaning the house trying to put away the summer things and get ready for fall to begin. As I went down to the family room I suddenly realized I still hadn’t gotten around to opening the Father’s Day gifts.

I called everyone downstairs and announced that it was Turn Back the Clock day. I was officially declaring that today was Father’s Day and it was time to open presents.

I have to admit, it was refreshing to have a Father’s Day where you could just relax and enjoy the day. As I picked up each gift and asked who it was from; Trina and the kids would look at each other with a confused expression and shrug.

I would open the present and show it to everyone. They were just as excited as I was since they had long forgotten what was in the present. I ended up with a couple of baseball Opening Day shirts and pins and a new alarm clock with an iPod docking station. I have wanted those for months and I would be able to wear the Diamondbacks shirts to the upcoming home stand which incidentally would be the final home stand of the season.

I guess I should just be glad that one of the kids didn’t decide to get me a new puppy for Father’s Day. This holiday might not have been as joyous.

Father’s Day is always an interesting day at our house. It has evolved a lot over the years of our marriage. It began as a simple day where things just kind of flowed. When the kids were really young we usually celebrated with a handmade card and perhaps breakfast together. As we collected more kids and they got older the celebration got a little bit larger and more involved. Trina would work with the kids to make sure to take each of them shopping and allow them to pick out something for their dad. This usually meant that I received a very eclectic series of presents ranging from stuffed animals to art supplies to colorful shirts. As the kids are now starting to get old enough to start leaving the house for school the holiday continues to evolve. Now I usually get an e-card along with a note saying that they are poor college students and if I could please send money they would be happy to send me something (assuming I send enough money since they had things to buy too). It’s not just about the gifts though.

I am finding that the kids are starting to mature and grow into adults with their own views and thoughts. Some of their tendencies I can relate to as views are similar to mine. Others are quite original and are obviously their own based upon what life experiences they have gathered through their limited time on this planet. This is the part that I find most enjoyable; to watch as they try to make their way forging their own path through life. Like every parent I hope that they will remember the good things that I taught them and forget the mistakes that I made while they were going up. There were many times they would present me with situations and questions that I didn’t have an answer to and wished they hadn’t asked. I did what I could to try to answer the best of my ability. Since I was learning to be a parent as they were learning to be a child my advice and decisions were not always the most consistent. I tried to take each of their circumstances into consideration to make decisions based on what I felt was right for them at that time. I am sure they didn’t think that was fair and wondered why I would answer one way when they asked then completely reverse my position the next time I was confronted with the question. It was not that I was trying to confuse or frustrate them; it was just that my views may have changed or something may have come up that made me think that a change was warranted to give them the best possible advice I could.
I have not always been there when they thought I should. I have missed events which in their lives were probably the most important activities they have ever been a part of. I am sure they thought that I didn’t care otherwise I would have been there. It wasn’t that I didn’t want to be there, it is just that sometimes you are presented with conflicting schedules and you have to choose what needs your attention the most even if it is not the thing you want to do. At those times the kids were always in my mind and I wished with all my heart that I could always be there for them. My absence may have been disappointing but hopefully it helped them to understand that daddy won’t always be there even if he wants to be. At some point in their lives they won’t have me by their side physically but they will always have me there spiritually. For each day I have tried to provide them with some lesson in life that they can use to reach their potential. That is what I want them to remember most on Father’s Day.

Now that Mother’s Day is over it is time to start focusing on the important holidays like Father’s Day. I don’t mean that mothers don’t deserve their own holiday I am all for it when a holiday is accompanied by cake. But Mother’s Day is such a girly holiday. It’s just not something guys can get their arms around. I mean Mother’s Day even messes up baseball when players start using pink bats. Who could take anyone seriously when they are swinging a pink bat? Newspaper ads start to feature cool things like barbeque grills, power tools, and beer goes on sale. Compare that to Mother’s Day when the ads are filled with dresses, picture frames, and floral arrangements. No, Father’s Day definitely kicks butt on Mother’s Day. At least that is what I thought until this morning.

I logged into my email account and found that I had received an email from Babies ‘R Us. I have no idea why I am all of a sudden getting email messages from Toys ‘R Us and Babies ‘R Us. I can’t for the life of me remember ever going into a Babies ‘R Us store in my life so this is definitely not an email sent to loyal customers. I would usually just delete an email like this but the title caught my eye and I had to open it. The title said “Free Shipping on Great Gifts for Dad!” Who could resist an email like that? I clicked the link. I’m not exactly sure what I was expecting but whatever I was thinking I was pretty sure it wasn’t the products I was offered. I don’t know any father who has been sitting around thinking, “you know what would be a cool gift? A Diaper Dude Diaper Bag!” I don’t know any guy who was hoping for a Bob Revolution Stroller in Mesa Orange or a Britax Monarch Red Racer Booster Seat let alone a Tike Tech Trax360 Double Pacific Blue Swivel Stroller. And don’t even get me started on the link with the heading, “Now you can stock up on Diapers and Wipes at babiesrus.com”. I challenge you to find me a guy who is just aching for a box of disposable diapers and some sanitary wipes. This email is an obvious ploy by mothers to try and get back at all the men who gave their wives lawn tools for Mother’s Day. They figure that if we give them a new gas-powered weed eater it is only fair that they give us a Diaper Dude diaper bag. I don’t care if it does come in camo material I still don’t want to get a diaper bag. We deal with crap all year long, the last thing any of us want is to receive a gift that reminds us that we need to clean up more crap.
Ladies let me help you with your shopping dilemma. Guys are ok with getting Harley-Davidson shirts, power tools, hand tools, and any cooking utensil that allows us to cook with open fire. We are also totally cool with anything from the Diamondbacks team shop except for that creepy stuffed pink and purple cat. (What is that thing anyway?) So if you want to make us happy, please don’t let Babies ‘R Us fool you. We seriously don’t want a 96 count box of Huggies no matter how cute you may think it would be to carry them in a hunter camo diaper bag.