If you’ve got a father, you’ve got one up on me, so I want you to try something this Father’s Day.
Stop whining about what your daddy doesn’t do. How he doesn’t bond with your kids or read them books. How he doesn’t call you enough or how he stills buys you stupid Christmas presents or how he just doesn’t “get” you.
Stop complaining about how he is so excessively stubbornly Republican; how he refuses to accept same sex marriage or how he went from always being five minutes early to fifty-five minutes early everywhere he goes. How he walks like he had somewhere to be two hours ago or how he wears his pants pulled up to his armpits.
Stop moaning about how he refuses to eat that “foreign” food called tofu and won’t eat anything but ketchup and eggs for breakfast.
Instead, forgive him for the hair in his ears and his eyebrows that are starting to creep off his face.
When he starts telling stories, start asking questions about a time you will never be able to recover after he’s gone.
And give thanks for the year after year that you get and that I won’t.
While you might not accept all his beliefs or ways, please do accept him just as he is right there in your life, living and breathing this Father’s Day.
Take my advice and love him to his face because one day you won’t be able to.
About Rebecca Suder