Father's Day

Pastor (paraphrased):  Please come next Sunday for the encouraging Father's Day message untitled "Are you man enough?"
Wife: <giggle>
Sam (son): Dad, you are more than man enough.
Me: <hug Sam with big smile> Thank you

For those women out there that don't know what all men know.... Mother's Day is about how mothers are wonderful and should be held in high esteem -- both good things --... Father's Day is about how men need to suck it up and do better.  This is of course a generalization but my wife is semi-entertained at how true it holds.  It has held true on both coasts of the United States, in multiple church denominations, and I think has gone on for at least as long as I've been around.

I think we were married two years before I explained the situation to my wife -- we've been married over 14yrs now.  At first she didn't believe me.  This last week she and I were joking about this exact upcoming topic.

This year I listened to the Bringing Up Boys audio book which was pretty good but frankly doesn't tell me as a guy much that I already didn't know.  It goes into this topic but from a bigger cultural perspective.  Took me listening it to realize it is for my wife and I should probably be listening to the related girl's book.  I did read a small book by the founder of Chic-filet, "It's Better to Build Boys than Mend Men".  It is much better positioned to be a book for father's and only takes an evening to read at most -- just my kind of book.

Ok... so seemingly off topic... but this year I have a new son and this summer I am "temporary father" to two girls.