Cup O’ Joe: A tribute to dads

Father’s Day means different things to different people. For some, it is a day to spend quality time with their father doing the things that he enjoys the most. For others whose dads are no longer with them, it is a time of reflection, remembering the times spent together.
    Father’s Day is this Sunday, which means there will also be a mad rush to department and sporting goods stores where ugly ties and golf balls will be prominently displayed to entice shoppers to buy them for their fathers.
Dads can get the short end of the stick when it comes to celebrating their “special” day. Walk into a grocery store or restaurant on Mother’s Day, and chances are every mom will be presented with a flower or some other small token to commemorate the event.
So why do dads not get the same treatment? Probably because their role in bringing a child into this world is nowhere near as prominent as a mother’s role. Dads cannot use the “I carried you for nine months” line, nor use the “I was in labor for two days” speech that moms can use so effectively.
Maybe it’s because dads tend to have more lavish ideas in mind when it comes to gifts. Men tend to want power tools, expensive electronics or accessories for their vehicles that women can’t comprehend the logic behind. What guy wouldn’t want an illuminated gear shifter or a steering wheel cover with their favorite sports team imprinted on it?
With two small children, the best gifts a dad could ever ask for are the homemade kind. Last year, my then-7-year-old daughter proudly presented me with a hat hook she had made in her second-grade class. It didn’t matter that I rarely wear a hat. I placed the hook near my shoes and grabbed a baseball cap to put on it and the smile it elicited was priceless.
Each year, my wife also gets our two children together for a picture in the same pose. She came up with an incredibly brilliant idea of having the girls emulate two of the things I enjoy most. My oldest daughter puts on one of my dress shirts and ties and holds a camera, while the youngest puts on my old softball jersey (or some Boston Red Sox shirt) and holds a bat.
It’s an amazingly simple concept, and yet it means more to me than anything they would buy in a store. Years from now, when they are fully grown and off on their own, I will have something to look back upon and see how much they grew from one year to the next.
Some dads like to spend the day doing their favorite activity, whether it’s fishing, ATVing, going to a movie or simply spending the afternoon lying in a hammock sipping a beverage. I’ll probably opt for the latter on this one, provided it’s a nice enough day. Of course that means all of the usual weekend chores will need to get done on Saturday, but that’s O.K. too.
Joseph Cyr is a staff writer for the Houlton Pioneer Times. He can be reached at pioneertimes@nepublish.com or 532-2281.