(Stepping onto my soapbox)
You know, dads really get shafted, compared to moms.
Mothers Day happens during the school year. We bring home potted flowers, little crafts showing hand prints, booklets extolling our virtues, sculptures and who knows what-all.
Fathers Day? Middle of summer break. In other words: nothing.
Mothers Day, we get bombarded with ads reminding us that moms need diamonds, flowers, clothes and perfume to make our day special.
Dads? They get a barbecue. Candy. Maybe a power tool, if they’re lucky.
News flash, people: it takes two to make a baby. Women are not the center of the universe. Men and women may be different, but both sexes have lessons to teach that the next generation needs.
I’m posting this four days in advance of Fathers Day this year in order to issue this challenge: find some way to make this Sunday truly special for the man who raised you, for the man who is your partner in raising your children. If you, like me, are grasping for ideas, check out that awesome little tool called the internet.
(Stepping down from my soapbox now. Have a nice day.)
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Something interesting to add to this post. I came across an intense discussion on FB this past week where someone asked friends to comment on the creation of Father’s Day Cards for moms in retail stores right now. The idea is that some have to play both roles. I didn’t think much about it one way or the other as this is not my reality. However, the comments were so insightful. Most agreed that this is one more way society undermines the role and importance of fathers. Thoughts?
Hm, that’s interesting. You know, I had included a phrase in this post about kids needing both fathers and mothers, and decided to remove it b/c the reality is that not every kid has both, and I didn’t want to imply that single parents are somehow “less than.”
I have not seen those kind of cards; if they do the opposite (fathers for mothers day) then I think it’s a fair thing to do. But I have my doubts. As much as women get mad about sexism, I think a huge portion of the culture is aimed at feeding women’s vanity at the expense of men.
Yes- the major complaint was that they surely don’t have cards for dads on Mother’s Day. The girls are really into The Berenstain Bears right now and Sephus gets so frustrated at how despicable Papa Bear is 🙂
to any grandmother reading this, I took my grandsons, 12 and 10, out to WalMart with a specified amount of money. I let them wander through the store and I asked them to think about what they thought their dad would like. I didn’t steer them in any way. He’s getting a poster, a cup, and 2 tiger car decals. They swear he’ll like the poster. I know they did!
Awwww!