I always hated shopping for my dad around Father's Day and holidays. The stores were always boasting all kinds of sales with your father in mind. "Your dad will love these new power tools!" "Get Dad what he really wants - a new set of golf clubs!" Dads were always being shown with their fancy toys and their sports stuff. After all, isn't that the epitome of a manly man? The Tim Allen figure with his loud tools and the big sports buffoon?
My father wasn't that kind of "manly man." Sure, he liked his tools, but used them for gardening, art, and working in the store. He could care less about sports. I wasn't raised in a house that watched a lot of football, basketball, baseball, etc. I think sometimes my father wondered where on earth I got that gene that made me a football freak in my adult life. The only times I can remember him actually watching football were when I was home visiting.
Does this lack of being a manly man mean that father was less of a man? I think not. I would rather define a father as the kind of man who takes on the responsibility of a family and does whatever it takes to care for them. He doesn't strike his wife nor children. He enjoys being in their company. That is more important that tools or sports any day.
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