Happy Father's Day! Just as we all had a mother, we all had a father. It is famous that fathers can be and often are much less involved with our lives than mothers. Garrison Keillor wrote some good comments about Father's Day:
Father's Day is a wonderful joke, a day on which you sit with your brood and someone turns to you and says, "When is Father's Day? Isn't it in June?" and you, the father, say, "I have no idea whatsoever." And that's the end of it. Mother's Day is the big deal when tanker ships full of French perfume dock at the bottling plants and four-star restaurants hire extra staff and Father's Day is the Sunday when someone gives you a bottle of cologne that smells like disinfectant. The price tag is still on it, $1.89.
Except for pastors and therapists, men can be strongly limited in their expression of emotions, sometimes even having limited ability to merely perceive their own feelings. If a guy is going to march into war, it can be a big help to have light or no emotions so you can whack the enemy or take a deep wound as lightly as possible. Another issue is the knowledge that boys are full of spirit, often to the point that they can't hear or heed warnings and rules. There are also times when girls are also convinced that what Dad says can be, maybe should be, ignored. Fathers come in many different sizes and personalities, but it is common for them to be rather stern disciplinarians, willing to restrict and punish without much concern for whether they will ever be liked.
Many fathers are convinced that only strong enforcement will result in full development of good character. You can sometimes see clear examples in male coaches of all-male sports teams.
I am not trying to say that fathers aren't loved or are unimportant. Further, other adult males such as older brothers, uncles, family friends can serve father-like functions and serve as important examples and models. I am just trying to explore the complexities of fatherhood.
