my first father's day (or, how to not repeat past mistakes)

so it was inevitable that father's day would roll around. i have found that father's day does not get nearly enough attention in society that mother's day gets. this is not at all to discount what moms do - it just seems to me that, for the most part, father's day is not that big a deal to a lot of people. i mean, look at the stereotypical gifts: on mother's day, moms get flowers, candy, dinner, etc. all kinds of cool stuff. what do dads get? a tie, or a tool of some sort. chill out, mom, relax! but dad, you go get dressed for work or fix something! just seems a little uneven.

so father's day is different things to different people. for myself, i want to hang out with my wife and my daughter. (actually liking spending time with your family?? what an effin' concept!) i don't wanna be one of these sullen douches who wants to spend the time alone watching the game in his man-cave (a phrase that, might i add, sounds vaguely homosexual.)

so yeah, i wanna spend time with my girls. some people look at me like i have 3 heads when i say i still get along great with my wife. my usual response is, 'it's not my fault that your marriage sucks.' that usually seems to shut the dopes up for a while.

father's day also makes me think about my relationship with my dad. most people don't know this, but we found out my wife was pregnant the same week my dad died last year. you have no idea how much it fucks with your head to lose your dad and find out you're going to be a dad a few days later. my dad and i didn't have a whole lot in common when i was growing up. for a long time i resented the fact that he was such a hardass. it took me until the time emmi was born to finally understand that fathers do what need to be done, even if it means playing the bad cop to my mom's good cop. there may be times when i will have to be the same type of hardass when emmi gets older. i just don't want her resenting me like i did with my dad. i guess that's the part i'll have to figure out.

p.s. for for my father's day gift, my wife set up a surprise photo shoot for me and emmi, and this was the shot we got. she looks great, it's too bad the shot was ruined by putting me in it ;)