Anyone who has heard my dad’s childhood stories knows he was trouble with a capital T. Whether memories of his own escapades had any bearing on his desire to have only daughters, only he can say. The fact is, he got his wish and had four girls.

Being his daughters didn’t mean we sat around like little princesses, though. Dad doesn’t subscribe to the girls-only-play-with-dolls theory. In his mind, girls can do anything boys can do. When I showed an interest in sports, he taught me to play baseball, football, and tennis. One of my favorite memories is learning to hit a baseball when I was very young. I can still remember our celebration the day I hit a ball so hard it broke the garage window!

Sports weren’t the only things I learned at my father’s knee. Thanks to him I can do (and have done) just about everything you can think of. The confidence he instilled in me during those early years prepared me to tackle whatever life threw my way.

I’m extremely blessed to have such a wonderful father. Thank you Dad for always being in my corner, cheering me on.

Happy Father’s Day, Dad, I love you.

Father’s Day “Did You Knows”

• The first Father’s Day celebration was June 19, 1910, in Washington State. Sonora Smart Dodd of Spokane, Washington, got the idea after hearing a sermon on Mother’s Day. She wanted to honor her father, William Jackson Smart, too. He was widowed twice, the second time leaving him with six children at home to raise on his own—Sonora, 16, and her five younger brothers.
• Sonora worked all her life to promote Father’s Day. (It didn’t catch on as quickly as Mother’s Day.) Finally, in 1972, six years before she died at 96, she saw her dream come to fruition when President Nixon signed a Congressional resolution, declaring the third Sunday in June to be Father’s Day.
• Many countries celebrate Father’s Day on March 19, the traditionally Catholic holiday of St. Joseph’s Day.
• Almost $17 billion was spent on Father’s Day gifts in 2020. (Still several billion less than Mother’s Day.)
• Father’s Day is fourth–behind Christmas, Valentine’s Day, and Mother’s Day–when it comes to the number of greeting cards sent.
• It is believed that the word “dad” began in the late fifteenth century, most likely developing from most babies’ initial use of the “word” dada.
• In 2020, the amount of time fathers spent with their children had doubled from 1989 and tripled from 1965.
• Although the holiday is for all fathers, the official holiday was established as Father’s Day instead of Fathers’ Day.