For some, the month of June means that summer is here. School is no longer in session and frequent visits to the pool or lake are on the minds of most. The smell of grilled hamburgers and hot dogs fill the air and the sounds of baseball ring throughout town. It could even mean taking that vacation you’ve patiently waited for all year. But if you’re a dad, there is a good chance that June means even something more. Father’s Day…it’s a time to recognize and a time to be recognized for everything that being a father entails.
So, how about a little history of how Father’s Day came about! The nation’s first Father’s Day was celebrated on June 19th, 1910, in the state of Washington. However, it was not until 1972 – 58 years after President Woodrow Wilson made Mother’s Day official – that the day honoring fathers became a nationwide holiday in the United States (Source: https://www.history.com/topics/holidays/fathers-day).
We thought it would be a special treat for our readers to provide some insight into what being a dad means to some of our Astra Bank staff. Take a look at what they said:
Justin Rogge – “Being a father means I get the honor of being their mentor and friend who guides them along their life journey, even if I myself am just making it up as I go. It truly is a privilege to watch them experience new things every day and learn what it means to be part of the world around them. When I get to see their little faces light up with a smile when I get home every day, it makes all my other problems in the world disappear.”
Levi Ochsner – “Being a father means rough housing before bedtime, golf cart adventures, making cookies, and building snowmen.”
Ben Fagan – “It’s never too late to do the right thing. I just try to make sure my kids are the best version of themselves they can be.”
Bryan Armendariz – “To me being a dad is showing my kids a good time, because I don’t know what their adult life is going to be like.”
Jared Bauck – “Being a dad means so many things, from teaching my kids to ride a bike to taking them to their first ball game. It means making sure they know I am going to be there for them no matter what. It means being truly blessed because they can make the worst day seem like the best. Being a dad, simply put, is the greatest feeling in the world.”
We’d like to leave you with a little Father’s Day poem by Edgar Albert Guest. No matter how you choose to celebrate we want to wish all the wonderful dads a Happy Father’s Day. Thank you to all of the Dads and everything they do!
Only a Dad
By Edgar Albert Guest
Only a dad, with a tired face,
Coming home from the daily race,
Bringing little of gold or fame,
To show how well he has played the game,
But glad in his heart that his own rejoice
To see him come, and to hear his voice.
Only a dad, with a brood of four,
One of ten million men or more.
Plodding along in the daily strife,
Bearing the whips and the scorns of life,
With never a whimper of pain or hate,
For the sake of those who at home await.
Only a dad, neither rich nor proud,
Merely one of the surging crowd
Toiling, striving from day to day,
Facing whatever may come his way,
Silent, whenever the harsh condemn,
And bearing it all for the love of them.
Only a dad, but he gives his all
To smooth the way for his children small,
Doing, with courage stern and grim,
The deeds that his father did for him.
This is the line that for him I pen,
Only a dad, but the best of men.