Daddy's Day

Father’s Day is a misnomer. It ought to be Daddy’s Day.
As the saying goes: Anyone can be a father. It takes someone special to be a daddy. There are too many fathers who don’t chose to become daddies. Too many men are absent from their children’s lives. Too many men are either not involved with their children at all or are too engaged in their careers and hobbies to be an effective father.
Oftentimes I feel like the latter. For the past year especially, I have been busy planning for the 75th anniversary celebration of the Lone Ranger, which we held last weekend at the Memphis Film Festival (more about that next week).
I would come home from a long day at work and get right on my computer. I’d stay there most all evening, breaking to eat dinner, bathe the little boys, do prayers and send the kids to bed. Then I’d be back on the computer again.
I owe a lot to my family. I owe them a lot of time. I have walks to take, bikes to ride, games to play, fish to catch and baseballs and footballs to toss around in the back yard. It’s time to go camping, swimming and horseback riding. I want to introduce my children to drive-in movies and take the family out for ice cream. We’ve gone too long without doing very many of those things.
Of course, being a good daddy also means being a good husband. Sandy has been very patient with me. It’s time for her patience to pay off. It’s time for evening walks holding hands, giving shoulder rubs, painting toenails and having Bible studies together.
I used to have a button that read “88 percent of life is just showing up.” I find that to be true. Being physically present says a lot to those around you. Being mentally engaged, however, is the difficult part. I guess that’s why there’s only 12 percent left of life.
I recently wrote a graduation story about Crystal and Roy Barboza, two students who graduated high school this spring. They’ve been married more than two years and have a daughter.
While I don’t condone people getting married at 16, I have a lot of respect for Roy. He has been determined to make his marriage work. He works to care for his family and he made the effort to finish school. How many of his peers have shunned their responsibility as a father?
Roy chose to take the high road. He’s a daddy to Khrysell. He’s a husband to Crystal. He’s got a hard road ahead of him. He needs all the encouragement he can get. I hope he hangs in there. I hope he bucks the trends and has a marriage that lasts a lifetime. He sets an example that young men today can learn from.
We don’t need more teen fathers. What we need are young men willing to commit to their families when the time to wed comes.
Being a father is hard work, especially with so many things demanding our time. But the rewards are well worth it. There’s nothing like having your child squeeze your neck, kiss your cheek and say “I love you Daddy!”
I want my kids to grow up to be the best at whatever they decide to do. But more than that, I want them to be Scout leaders, Sunday school teachers, PTA presidents and the like. I want my grandchildren to have great parents – ones who learned by example. But before I can have any of that, I must first set the example myself.
Now, if you’ll excuse me, it’s time to go play some catch.