ALT-1 Inexpensive Fathers Day Gifts
Before we become Dads we men have a tendency to be pretty much self-centered; most everything we do is for ourselves. The "Bachelor Pad" is notorious for it's splendor and wonder. Once we get that first tight fisted, finger grip, or hear that first cooing giggle, we've been transformed. No longer do we do for ourselves; we do for ours.
For the most part, that is a true and to the point description. For real Dads our wife comes first with our kids a very close second. We work where we work, for our family. We put up with work place politics, for our family. We go beyond our endurance, for our family. A wife brings the real man out of the little boy shell and a child enhances that real man's maturity. If that man cannot grow beyond his childhood days then he is not the man I speak about.
Things that would make others maybe look and smile, will tug at a Dad's heart until his eyes well up. When a six month old little boy's full weight is pressing down on Dad's chest as he sleeps on the sofa, there is nothing else in the world. When the three year old little girl comes to Dad with a scraped knee and big tears in her eyes, Dad's heart crumbles.
There is a non-expensive gift in these instances that perhaps some won't recognize. The gift for me is that I have a chest that is so warm and comfortable that my little boy can fall asleep on me to the rhythmic beating of my heart. The gift is that I can take my little girl in my arms, kiss her on the cheek, care for her "owie" and send her back to her land of smiles and giggles. I have that power, you see, I am DAD!
The first really inexpensive gift I ever received from my daughter was the day she lay on the hospital examining tray, still, lifeless, gray and blue. Then with a simple action the Doctor brought her to sucking her first great gasp of air into her little lungs and suddenly she was a bright, noisy pink and was thrashing all about. I watched, I saw the Lord enter my little girls lungs and her heart and her mind. I was there when my little girl came to life. Is that a gift? Yes it is and it was free.
The instant my son was born I knew he was healthy, he was whole and he was living. He didn't wait for anyone, he came out telling everyone off, in no uncertain terms. My gift that day besides my healthy son was the look on my Doctor's face when I told him my son's first name would be my Doctor's last name. Our doctor gave me two healthy wonderful children and one of them carries his name today.
These are gifts that can never be taken away. That's why the right, inexpensive gift, is the best gift for Dad. Dads really do have a lot of faults, me included, but one I do not have is that of not loving my family and living for my family. I can't remember much of anything any more, but I can recall every single minute my children have given me. That's the real gift.
Children can keep on giving these inexpensive gifts as long as they live. They just have to somehow schedule their very busy lives in a way that will allow them to make visits to see Dad. I don't ask for much; holidays, Father's Day, birthdays, any time they happen to be in the neighborhood. And they do, our children keep us company a lot.
The gifts they bring include their presence, a hug, a kiss on the cheek, a grandchild, a loving partner, a couple of hours of uninterrupted conversation, reminiscing old times, visiting new developments, seeing how their life is progressing, what are their challenges, how are they meeting them. Children have so much wealth to share with Mom and Dad and it shouldn't cost them any more than a trip to their parent's home.
Of course I like things in a package. I like to unwrap gifts and get surprised as much as the next person. I think we are built in a way that allows us to move away from the material gifts and over to the emotional ones. Finally, at some mature age, we realize where the real value lies. Our kids are able to bring our hearts up out of the depths of despair. They can bring our minds back to a sense of worth. They have that power, you see, they are Dad's kids!
