The Real Meaning of Father’s Day

What comes to mind to you when you think of Father’s Day? Is it experiencing the thrill of giving your dad that perfect gift that you worked so hard to find? Is it going out for a big family dinner at your dad’s favorite restaurant? Or, for a lot of us, is it savoring one of those few occasions of the year when we can have a long, deep phone call with our dad.

For me, since I’ve become a father, what really has emerged as the meaning is spending time. Spending time talking, eating out, playing games, watching a movie, or traveling, or whatever, but just spending dedicated time together. This has been especially true for me on those Father’s Days when it was just my three daughters and me. The best examples of this are those Father’s Days when we decided to go to the park and have simple fun playing soccer, throwing a Frisbee or going on a hike in the woods.  

In one sense, I think Father’s Day should be a day like any other. Granted, it’s a special day for people remember their father and all of the wonderful things that he did to make them the people that they became. But I mention it’s only a day because, for me, I would love to see more people carve out occasions to spend dedicated time with their father more than once or even several times a year.

With that said, though, I do have to commend society for designating a day where fathers can shine. Because of the way that mother and father roles traditionally evolved, mothers can often seem to get most of the limelight of a parental pair. Father’s Day helps parents get a more even spotlight, and helps us to remember to spend that one day with Dad.

So, this Father’s Day, keep in mind that the real meaning may not lie so much in what you do for your dad as much as how much (dedicated) time you spend doing it.

Do you agree or disagree? I would love to hear what Father’s Day means to you.