TGIF (By Robert Chapman)

In the words of so many people who have stolen the phrase and made it their own, “Thank God it’s Friday!” I enjoy Fridays at The Clarion-Ledger because we have what everyone else has: casual Fridays. So I’m at my computer sitting in my jeans, my t-shirt and my flip-flops, pondering what to write about and it hits me: why don’t I just write about Father’s Day.

Sure, it seems simple enough to write about how great my father has been and how I’m looking forward one day to becoming a father, but with my wedding date very quickly approaching (8 days, to be precise), the realization of becoming a father is already kind of tugging on my heart strings. Hopefully, we will have a good period before we become parents, but one day, I will become a father. I keep thinking, “How will I come across as a dad?”

My father has been a great father. Ever since I was young, he got me stuck on baseball, and now I’m officially obsessed. He has taught me the importance of words and talking things out and has even shown me some of the consequences when words are not used. He has taught me how to fail, but has more importantly taught me how to recover and how to rely on the strength of the Lord. He has taught me how to get back up after falling down, and how to enjoy in the breeze on my face when life is a smooth ride. He has taught me the importance of loving others and has taught me the importance of believing in myself.

I wonder how I will be with my children. Will I be a good father or will I be a bad father? Hopefully it is the prior and not the latter. A guy I work with is celebrating his first Father’s Day as a father. He has a three month old son, and his cubicle is covered in pictures of him. I asked him if he is looking forward to his first Father’s Day as a dad, and he told me that he keeps forgetting that he gets to be included in this holiday. I can understand the surreality (is that a word?) of that because the fact that I’m about to be a husband still makes me blush.

Dads are everywhere. Without them, we wouldn’t be here, and without them, in one way or another, we wouldn’t be who we are. Make sure that you at least think of your father this Sunday, and if you can, call him and give him a hug.

Now, enough with the sappy stuff. I hope everyone has a great weekend, and remember to send me some of your own writings and I’ll post them. I think for weekends I’ll do little blurbs or find little posts from other news sites. Have a great Father’s Day weekend!