Happy Father's Day

[Phaedrus]

[TheGulegon]

Fuckin PIMP!     

[Thumpalumpacus]

Pretty sure this was my son back in the day:

[Minimalist]

Another Hallmark Holiday........

[Tres Leches]

The dad in my home is called "mom". My daughter and I are going to Santa Cruz for 5 days, partly as a father's day gift for moi.

Happy Father's Day to all the dads here!   

-Teresa

[EvieTheAvocado]

I'm celebrating father's day.

Not because I'm a father ... but because I don't know where my father is. Which is probably for the best.

So I'm numbing myself with alcohol and having a cheeseburger to feel better. That + having fun with my girlfriend ... and I'm feeling better. It's working! Lol.

[Dancefortwo]

My dad died about 10 years ago but I still celebrate Fathers Day even though he's not around.  He gave us kids the gift of free thought.  He was an atheist himself and always encouraged us to think for ourselves but if we wanted to find out about religion it was our responsibility to do the searching, not his.  

One time we were driving our old beat up station wagon up in the Sierras Nevada Mountains, where we lived at the time, and he spotted a homeless man with raggedy clothes and no shoes. He stopped the car, did a u-turn and went over to the guy and literally gave him the shirt off his back, his pants, his coat and shoes.  My dad drove home in his underwear.  I'll never forget that.

[Dānu]

I find the day somewhat rueful and bittersweet. While listening to various celebrations of fathers and such, I am recollecting the sexual abuse I suffered at the hands of my father, and that, even setting that aside, although he was generally a good person and well intentioned outside of that, he was basically a failure as a father and a parent. It just reminds me of how much in this life is determined by mere luck of the draw and how, through no fault of my own, I was blessed or cursed with some real bad things.

[Thumpalumpacus]

I find the day somewhat rueful and bittersweet.  While listening to various celebrations of fathers and such, I am recollecting the sexual abuse I suffered at the hands of my father, and that, even setting that aside, although he was generally a good person and well intentioned outside of that, he was basically a failure as a father and a parent.  It just reminds me of how much in this life is determined by mere luck of the draw and how, through no fault of my own, I was blessed or cursed with some real bad things.

I sure am sorry you experienced that, ma'am.

[Jenny]

I find the day somewhat rueful and bittersweet.  While listening to various celebrations of fathers and such, I am recollecting the sexual abuse I suffered at the hands of my father, and that, even setting that aside, although he was generally a good person and well intentioned outside of that, he was basically a failure as a father and a parent.  It just reminds me of how much in this life is determined by mere luck of the draw and how, through no fault of my own, I was blessed or cursed with some real bad things.

Hugs my friend, I’m so sorry you went through all of that.  

[EvieTheAvocado]

Me too.

[GenesisNemesis]

Pretty mixed feelings about my father. On one hand he obviously didn't deserve his suicidal depression but on the other he was emotionally abusive at times and I had to deal with him being totally drunk whenever I went over every other weekend as a teenager. He just broke down mentally eventually and didn't want to live anymore. There were still some good times but overall it was difficult to deal with him.

[Jenny]

Pretty mixed feelings about my father. On one hand he obviously didn't deserve his suicidal depression but on the other he was emotionally abusive at times and I had to deal with him being totally drunk whenever I went over every other weekend as a teenager. He just broke down mentally eventually and didn't want to live anymore. There were still some good times but overall it was difficult to deal with him.

Hugs for you too GN. *hugs*

[Jenny]

My dad passed away several years ago and so this day is always a sad day for me.  He truly was a great man and I loved him so much. I think though, like dance mentioned in her post, maybe I'll start celebrating my dad's life on this day instead of trying to avoid it.  

[Thumpalumpacus]

[...] and I had to deal with him being totally drunk whenever I went over every other weekend as a teenager.

Having been the jackass myself in this situation, I can imagine the bullshit -- but to be honest I don't want to. That's a hard row to hoe.

[Thumpalumpacus]

My dad passed away several years ago and so this day is always a sad day for me.  He truly was a great man and I loved him so much. I think though, like dance mentioned in her post, maybe I'll start celebrating my dad's life on this day instead of trying to avoid it.  

It ain't often I quote Theodore Driesel, aka Dr Seuss, but I'm with him when he wrote "Don't be sad that's it's over, be happy that it happened." The attribution might be apocryphal but the sentiment is real all the same.

As we all do, I think about my father on this day and others, and just wish I had expressed my gratitude better before he died.

[GenesisNemesis]

[...] and I had to deal with him being totally drunk whenever I went over every other weekend as a teenager.

Having been the jackass myself in this situation, I can imagine the bullshit -- but to be honest I don't want to. That's a hard row to hoe.

Not to mention the endless petty arguments he had with my mother over the phone. 

[Fireball]

My eldest son called today to wish me HFD. We talked for over 6 hours. That's more than we've talked in the previous 6 years.     It's mostly issues with his mother, but I get some of the outfall and lack of communications from that.

[Dancefortwo]

I feel so sorry for those of you who haven't had fathers you could love and admire. I can't imagine what you've gone through.   It makes me appreciate my father even more.  My dad wasn't a great provider and when he had a little extra money somehow he'd find someone who needed it more.  He was generous to a fault but I'd rather have that imperfection rather than a stingy, selfish man for a father.   

He reminded many people of the actor, Jimmy Stewart....a sort of a tall, skinny "aw shucks" kind of a guy. He didn't drink or smoke and played classical piano throughout his life.  As a matter of fact he sat down and played Beethoven's Moonlight Sonata three months before he died.

Yeah, he had an epic midlife crisis that kinda threw our family into some crazyness for a while but he settled down after getting through that and went back to his Jimmy Stewartish personality.   He was a lovely, lovely man.

[Thumpalumpacus]

Not to mention the endless petty arguments he had with my mother over the phone. 

Petty arguments are the alcoholic's forte. 

[Thumpalumpacus]

My eldest son called today to wish me HFD. We talked for over 6 hours. That's more than we've talked in the previous 6 years.     It's mostly issues with his mother, but I get some of the outfall and lack of communications from that.

I hope y'all can grow your communications back and make lemonade out of lemons. Happy Father's Day, bud.

[Unsapien]

Personally I'd prefer not to celebrate father's day. I'd do the obligatory call to my dad every year while he was alive but we never really talked about anything important just small talk for about 10 minutes.

My wife tries to push the kids to make some sort of deal about it but I'd really just prefer to pass the day unmarked, yesterday I made French toast for breakfast which I haven't done in a long time, I'm the only one it the house that likes it. That was the highlight of the day.

I don't really think kids should feel obligated to "thank" their fathers for basically doing their job, and while I don't think I'm a bad father, I don't really think I've done anything that would rise to the level of being praiseworthy either.

[OakTree500]

My dad likes to tell the story of how I took a claw hammer to his motorbike, when I was maybe 3, as I was "helping daddy" or something. I am surprised I am still alive at this point.

Happy fathers day to all the dad's/father figures out there, and to the mom's that do it alone as well. I had a nice day with my daughter, then saw my own dad in the evening. Got my step father a card as well, as he had a big hand in raising me as well. 

[julep]

Not a fan of my own father.  The last abusive letter from him is only a few weeks old, the usual mixture of boasting, half-apologies, and threats of detectives and damnation...

However, my husband has been a great dad to our son.  We had a nice dinner out, the three of us.