Friday, June 01, 2007

Dads of the 21st Century

Originally posted at Jodifur as part of the Blog Exchange.

So Father’s Day is coming and I have a small bone to pick with Hallmark, American Greetings, and their ilk. A bone and a news-flash: I know you may find this nearly impossible to believe, but my dad does not play golf. Neither does my husband. Nor do they sit on their butts all day with a beer in one hand and a remote in the other. They do not fish, tinker with their cars, or obsess about sports in any way, shape or form. And neither of them owns a recliner!

Therefore: Father’s Day cards featuring the above don’t work for me and my kids. We come to the drugstore prepared to drop $5—maybe $10!—on cards for Daddy and Grandpa. And we find: nothing. I don’t want to tease my dad about his (nonexistent) TV habit; the man is far (far, far!) more physically fit than I am. I don’t want to give my husband a card with a necktie on it; he wears one maybe three times a year.

There are cards now for your grandma’s new hip and your boss’s new job and your neighbor’s new pool. How about some Father’s Day cards that branch out maybe a teensy bit beyond the ‘60s stereotypes? My dad was as close as he could get to a stay-at-home dad—two decades ago. My husband is one of the best cooks I know and is also the chief tailor/button-sewer-onner in our household. Any chance that we’ll find cards that really reflect our guys and how much they mean to us?

I doubt it. So we’ll be getting out the construction paper and markers and taking matters into our own hands. Nothing says “We love you” like toddler scribbles and some Dora the Explorer stickers—am I right?

3 comments:

Bea said...

Farting.

The remote control.

Barbecuing.

Golfing.

Those are the staples around here, with the occasional fishing or car-tinkering card. My dad does golf, but he's actually a pretty good golfer, which means that most of the cards don't apply. Argh.

Julie Pippert said...

Oh AMEN!

I always notice that. Mother's Day has a better selection.

And although my dad does golf, he must be getting tired of golf-themed cards and crap.

My husband works. And works. And plays with the kids. And works.

What's the card for that?

Patois42 said...

You are so right! We had to resort to giving him cards as if we were all babies because at least they didn't have so-not-like-him images on them.

Hey, maybe you want a new career in greeting card design?