A Gift For My Dad, And Possibly Yours

World’s Greatest Dad! Best Dad Ever! Many of us will see these words this weekend on cards, mugs, hats, and children’s handmade crafts brought home from school. All in celebration of Father’s Day. In honor of my dad, I wanted to write a post about why I believe he is the best dad… ever. I also wanted to share a gift idea that could be used for special people in your life and for other occasions. You don’t have to even leave your home or spend money! Dads are definitely tough to shop for. I mean there are only so many shirts I can get my dad and I can count on one hand how many times I’ve actually succeeded in surprising him with a gift he actually wanted.

Getting to Know My Dad

My dad and I weren’t always close. Growing up I remember knowing he loved me but I only have a handful of memories of my childhood with him: taking me and my sister to the park to fly our kites, doing my hair in a side ponytail (it was the 80s ok?), and making us dinner. He worked hard for our family and my parents would work opposite schedules so that we were rarely with a babysitter for long. Our relationship truly began to grow stronger during my teen years. I found myself going to my dad more and more about life stuff. He always gave me such logical advice and guidance. I also felt I could be a little sassier with him and he would let me get away with it!

My dad has always been the voice of reason.

I fell in love with dance early on in life, he clearly made it known that he thought it was a great hobby. My parents paid for many dance classes, but my dad didn’t really seem to take it seriously. However, that appeared to change for me the final night of my dance performance at my community college. Before my performance, my dad gave me flowers with a card that praised me for being a great dancer which struck me as thoughtful. But it was what occurred at the end of the actual performance that meant so much to me. I was awarded the Jazz Dancer of the Year Award (a total surprise) and amongst the clapping, I heard “Go Dee!!!” from somewhere in the crowd knowing it was my dad’s voice. I have been in dance performances all my life up until then and never had I heard my dad cheer for me. Not only was he there to support me but he was cheering for me.  It was a turning point for how I saw my dad as supportive of me and what I chose to do with my life.

My dad is also the type of man that can make chores like grocery shopping fun. There have been times when he would find silly things in the store like a stuffed squirrel (we both love and are amused by squirrels) and throw it at me. In college, while grocery shopping together, he put about 25 boxes of condoms in my cart at the bottom so that I wouldn’t realize until I was putting my items on the conveyor belt, what he had done. My face burned red when I realized it but it still made me laugh. Especially considering I was super single at the time with no prospects on the horizon.

More recently, I asked my dad some questions regarding my current relationship and next steps my boyfriend and I were considering. There were a few things nagging at my brain and my dad again surprised me with his response:

If you knew my dad, you would know that he’s not one to talk about “heart” stuff. When I told my boyfriend what my dad had suggested and the words he had said, my boyfriend said it was exactly how he was feeling and how he appreciated my dad. 

A Father’s Day Gift Idea

When I was 19 and traveling to NYC for the first time, my dad wrote a letter and had it sent to me at home that appeared to be from the manager of the  Mayflower Hotel (where I would be staying) welcoming me to the hotel and city. I ran to my parents asking how the manager knew my name and that I was traveling to NY! I’m still just as gullible now as I was then. Upon recalling all these memories a couple years ago, I came across an idea for a Father’s Day gift. Writing letters to my dad for certain moods or moments. Who knew that one of the “gifts” my dad gave me would be used in a gift back to him.

Here’s what to do to create a special gift for your dad:

Write a letter to your dad. It could be written on a fun piece of stationary or a card, or something you create yourself. The letter could be about a special memory, serve as a coupon for a movie or lunch date, or just be about whatever is in your heart at the moment. Each letter is sealed in an envelope with instructions to open and read during certain times. Some suggestions are below, but feel free to make up your own!

Read when:

• You need a laugh
• It’s your birthday
• It’s my birthday
• You need a dose of nostalgia
• You need to know how much I love you
• You miss me

Of course you can create your own labeled envelopes depending on what kind of theme your letter is or what you believe your dad would enjoy. I have heard from my mom how much my dad has enjoyed this gift and how he savors opening them. I did not think that my dad would appreciate letters like that. So now it’s become a traditional Father’s Day gift for my dad.  Yes, it takes more time than getting him a shirt, hat, or gift card, but it’s truly a gift from the heart and a gift that only you could give him.

Thank You Dad

My dad is retired now from a job that was extremely stressful and dangerous. He keeps busy and goes to the gym almost every day of the week. He’s almost 69 years old and you would never know it! I have begun to realize why earlier in my life he was more stoic. He had to be. I can’t imagine the things he saw and how he worried about protecting his family from the harsh world outside our home. One of the most painful moments of going through my divorce years ago, was seeing my pain reflected in my dad. How upset it made him to not have been able to protect me from such heartbreak. I know my dad will always do everything he can to protect me and our family. But I also know he will do ANYTHING to get me to laugh, will always share my love and appreciation of squirrels and their silly antics, and I know I can reach out to him (even on my early morning commute) to get his nuggets of wisdom on life, work, and as I’m recently discovering, love.

When Deelightfullife officially went live, my dad didn’t know what blogging was. But somehow he figured out how to subscribe to it and gave me my first official comment. That’s the type of man he is. Thank you dad, I love you and look forward to seeing you get the notification for this article and hearing what you think because what you think will always matter and I will always want to make you proud. Happy Father’s Day dad!

What About Your Dad?

What makes your dad “The World’s Greatest”? I would love to hear about those special dads out there or maybe he’s not your dad but a figure who has stepped into that role for you. I look forward to reading your comments below. Don’t forget to subscribe in order to know when new posts make their debut! 🙂