An unknown author once wrote, "Any man can be a father. It takes someone special to be a dad."
When I was young my father, who was a police sergeant, used to give one favorite piece of advice. He would ask the officers on his squad to have one simple goal for the day.
"Every day make one thing better than when you found it," he would tell them.
When I graduated from the police academy, my dad pinned my badge on my chest and whispered to me to the stage, "Every day make one thing better than when you found it." That piece of advice is something I still think about all of the time.
My husband often tells our kids that "life is not fair," which is also a good thing to learn in life. He does not tell the kids to pull his finger (for that I am so grateful), but he does make them brush their teeth at night and he hugs them when they need a daddy snuggle.
As a mother, I feel like Father's Day is sometimes not prioritized the way Mother's Day is every year. We tend to see a slew of advertisements for Mother's Day gifts and sales for weeks in advance, but Father's Day feels like is sandwiched in with the end-of-school hoopla and graduation celebrations.
The role of fathers has evolved dramatically over the years from when I was young and dads have now taken a more active part in the critical and dynamic realm of raising children.
Dads are on muted conference calls while also changing dirty diapers and schlepping kids to and from play dates. They are playing catch and reading stories at bedtime.
Father's Day is fast approaching. Santa Cruz Patch wants to hear the best advice your dad ever gave you. If you are a dad, what is your favorite piece of advice you give your kids? Send us your favorite pics with you and your dad.
Patch us your comments in the comments section below and give dad a shout out while you are there.
Happy Father's Day to all of those fantastic dads out there.
There are two Father's Day events in South County this weekend, both sponsored by the fatherhood support program, :
- The on Saturday night at Seacliff Inn in Aptos.
- The Sunday morning at PAPÁs, on West Lake Avenue in Watsonville.
- Dad may also want to hear author Jonathan Franzen speak for free at Saturday at 7:30 p.m. Franzen has a new book of essays he will sign called Farther Away. His novel, The Corrections, had a lot to say about fathers.
