It’s FATHER’S DAY WEEKEND YAY!! It’s one of two days of the year (our birthday’s) where all of us Dad’s get to pick what we want to do, there’s big celebrations, the restaurants have 2 hour lines, and doing all kinds of guy things together as a family and…Wait…that’s generally NOT how it goes. At least it hadn’t been in my world. Until now.

While Mother’s Day is always highly celebrated with flowers, cards, lunch or dinner out, chocolates, and trips to the spa for mani’s and pedi’s, and so on and so on. Which is awesome! They deserve it and should be treated very special at all times because being a Mom is the toughest job on earth!! I celebrate all you Mom’s!!

But then, there’s being a Father. In my world (meaning, certainly not the way everyone gets treated), Father’s Day was something that was just sort of blown off. It was not celebrated.  It used to always be difficult to hear of Dad’s who had wives that made all kinds of plans with their children to find a way to make Dad feel special for his role in the family. It usually left me sad, frustrated and wanting to just be alone.

Here’s the good news…those days are OVER!!!! My amazing children and girlfriend helped put together plans for BOTH Saturday and Sunday with 5 of my children, her 3, her dad, brother and all. We are going fishing, to the movies, bowling, BBQ’s BOTH days and has shown love, patience, and kindness to me from day one, and sees the importance of a loving, caring, hard-working father figure is one to be recognized and celebrated just like the Mom’s do. This will be the first time my children and I are all together on Father’s Day in YEARS!!

I can say that most Dad’s that I know feel the same way when it comes to celebrating Father’s Day and that is this: You can save your money and don’t buy the tie, don’t want a nap, don’t need new technology, and don’t need to watch sports or TV all day long, or watch people stare at their phones for hours on end.

What we want more than anything in the world…is hearing, “I Love You Dad,” we want quality time with the people we love, seeing them all together, enjoying games, stories, and laughs and creating new memories together. The joy this brings is priceless!

Oh, and delicious eats like a rib eye steak on the grill, some cold drinks, and some kick ass jams playing are welcome as well!! FAMILY, FOOD, & FUN! THAT’S what makes a freaking awesome Father’s Day!! At least it does for me.

HAPPY FATHER’S DAY, to all those great Dad’s that work hard to build their love for their families and households. Today, we celebrate YOU!! You all truly ROCK!!

Joe