Father's Day

Another Father's Day is fast approaching. It takes me back to the Father's Days when I was a kid. My grandparents coming over. Cooking out. Laughter. I often wondered how they liked their gifts. Even as a kid I wondered, "Does Grandpa really like that shirt, wallet, jacket, etc.?" They always acted sort of grateful. Even my Dad would try to rally. My Mom would work hard to be original. She'd buy him new grill utensils, tools, that type of thing. He was never overly excited or surprised but did always thank her and us.
Now, I'm the Mom. I have to try to come up with gifts for our dads and my husband. Who is by the way a terrific Dad. I just ask him. This year he said he'd take a new washer. Probably because we had to buy one a week ago. Sigh. He'd given me such a nice Mother's Day I wanted to do an awesome job for him too.
My kids had no ideas. They really weren't in the mood to make anything like we did last year. So...I asked my husband again. And again he mentioned the washer. Aaahhh!!! Then I got a 30% off coupon to one of my favorite stores. I bought him the old stand by. Clothes he really needed. At least in my opinion. Then something he'll really like-an ice cream cake from Dairy Queen. Chocolate of course. I only need to get one more gift he actually did mention. That was before the whole dishwasher mess. I'm feeling pretty good where he is concerned.
Now, for our Dads. Not easy. Grandpa cards for sure. They get a bigger kick out of those than the dad cards they've been getting for over forty years. But gifts? I sent them money. My dad feels this is impersonal but I'm at a loss here. Then, I started thinking about my friends whose dads have a new home . In Heaven. I grew up with some of their dads. They were wonderful gentlemen. As I was worrying about gifts I paused to think about them and their kids. I know what they'd like for Father's Day. To have one more day, Father's Day or not, with their dads. It pulled me up short and put the whole gift dilemma into prospective. I know how much I miss my grandfathers. To wrap my mind around the fact that one day our fathers will not be here seems too much to grasp. Maybe the happiest thing about Father's Day is being thankful God has given us one more with our dads. And to be happy we have a heavenly Father who when our earthly fathers are human is always there for us. No matter what. Happy Father's Day indeed!