~Happy Father's Day~

When the good Lord was creating Fathers he started with a tall frame,
and a female angel nearby said, "What kind of Father is that?
If you're going to make children so close to the ground,
why have you put Fathers up so high?
He won't be able to shoot a marble without kneeling,
tuck a child in bed without bending,
or even kiss a child without a lot of stooping."

And God smiled and said....
"Yes, but if I make him child size,
who would children have to look up to?"

And when God made a Father's hands, they were large and sinewy.
And the angel shook her head sadly and said,
"Do you know what you are doing? Large hands are clumsy.
They can't manage diaper pins, small buttons,
rubber bands on pony tails
or even remove splinters caused by baseball bats."

And God smiled and said...
"I know, but they're large enough to hold everything a small boy
empties from his pockets at the end of a day..
yet small enough to cup a child's face in his hands."

And then God molded long, slim legs and broad shoulders,
And the angel nearly fell over.
"Boy this is the end of the week, all right," she clucked.
"Do you realize you just made a Father without a lap?
How is he going to pull a child close to him
without the kid falling between his legs?"

And God smiled and said...
"A Mother needs a lap. A Father needs strong shoulders
to pull a sled, balance a boy on a bicycle,
or hold a sleepy head on the way home from the circus."

God was in the middle of creating two of the largest feet
anyone had ever seen when the angel could contain herself no longer.
"That's not fair. Do you honestly think those large boats are
going to dig out of bed early in the morning when the baby cries?
Or walk through a small birthday party without
crunching at least three of the guests?"

And God smiled and said...
"They'll work. You'll see.
They'll support a small child who wants to
ride a horse to Ban bury Cross, or scare off mice at the summer cabin,
or display shoes that will be a challenge to fill."

God worked throughout the night,
giving the Father few words, but a firm, authoritative voice;
eyes that saw everything, but remained calm and tolerant.
Finally, almost as an after-thought, he added ~ tears.

Then he turned to the angel and said,
"Now are you satisfied that he can love as much as a Mother?"

And the angel was quiet.

~ Erma Bombeck ~

Dear Dad,
If you never did another thing in your life,
you'd still be a great man in my eyes because of all you've taught me,
all you've done, and all you are.

I know I'm really lucky to have gotten a dad like you.
It's like you've always been bigger than life to me....
a teacher, a protector, a buddy and someone whose
opinion really matters to me a lot.

I know that raising me wasn't always a party,
but you hung in there, giving me the benefit of the doubt
and teaching me what I needed to know.