What did you get your dad for Father’s day?

A tie, a wallet, some golf accessories… I have no doubt, all good things. Maybe you bought something from Buffalo Jackson for your dad. But let’s be clear… the greatest gift, we can’t buy it. And we certainly don’t sell it on this website. Sitting with some men last Sunday night, we were sharing about our fathers and our families over a little scotch and cool summer evening. 

One of the topics that came up was around our dad’s and their role in our life. The father hunger in us, from boyhood on, is one of our greatest drivers. We long to be affirmed and validated, and its apparent in my life and in so many others I am around, we long to find that. Even when it is not given or received, we still look for it in many ways, whether in ambition and sports, success, there seems this underlying need to be proven and validated and in that… to be loved by a Father. 

Every man… there is that deep desire and connection and need. And so when it comes to Father’s day… it’s so easy to give dad some greeting card or a thanks dad sort of half joke for a cultural holiday we celebrate. But before the day comes… what if you reflect a little about your dad and bring a little more meaning to the day. 

I find that often when I am the most honest, and real with myself, I can also be the most free and real with the people around me. Here are a few thoughts to take into Father’s Day…  

1. What do you still long to see between you and your dad?  

2. In this stage of your life, what would you like to say to him that you might not have seen in his role before as you have grown?  

3. What story might you tell him that made a difference that he might not know made an impact?  

4. What would you like to do with your dad in the next year?   

Will he remember the wallet or tie in a decade? Maybe. But my guess is any conversation that comes that day, will be a much greater treasure.