Father's Day From A New Perspective
By Paul Morrone, CFP®, CPA/PFS, MSA
I’m now on the other side of the coin for the Father’s Day celebration, and selfishly I have to admit I like it. This year was an anomaly in our house as we had an out-of-state wedding the night before and Sunday was primarily a day to get home and get reacclimated before the week started. Admittedly, both Jill and I were exhausted after a late night at the wedding (congrats again to Jim and Meg who are now cruising around Rome on their honeymoon), so we did not have much of a formal plan for the day. That was more than fine with me. On a day like Father’s Day, it’s not necessarily about what you do, but more about what you don’t do.
Our normal Sunday routine is predictable and mundane. It generally includes all the things that no one really enjoys doing but have to do to be a functioning member of society. We’re cleaning up the house or yard, going grocery shopping, doing some meal prep, cooking dinner, (constantly) feeding or cleaning up after Kyle, and soon enough its time for bed. If it’s a nice day an we’re feeling adventurous, maybe I’ll be able to squeeze in a quick car wash or even a Sunday brunch.
Sunday morning, we ‘slept in’ until about 830 and were on the road shortly thereafter to pick up Kyle after his first overnight with Grandma and Poppy. Luckily, everyone looked well rested and I got a chance to wish my dad a happy Father’s Day as well. After getting settled back at home, Jill was kind enough to pick up the household responsibilities for the day. No grocery shopping for dad, no cooking dinner, no meal prep. Life was good. The only thing I had to do was watch Kyle while Jill did the heavy lifting. Not a bad tradeoff, and I gladly accepted.
That’s not to say my job was easy, however. Kyle is a very busy child and continues to ‘explore’ every nook and cranny in our house. Leaving him for more than 30 seconds usually leads to his hands getting into something they shouldn’t or a loud noise of something crashing. Maybe it’s all in my head, but I also feel as if he is far more proficient at crawling after only two days away. He kept me on my toes all afternoon, but even considering how busy we were, there is nothing better than spending Father’s Day with your child.
A quick aside – I had forgotten a pair of dress socks for the wedding that we attended on Saturday. In Jill’s infinite wisdom she had already bought me the socks with Kyle’s head on them and brought them as a surprise for me to wear at the wedding. Needless to say, they were a hit!
