Kids & Parenting

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Forgetting Father’s Day
By Dan Blankenship


Jessica Adams was in shock. She had never forgotten about Father’s Day before, but the pressure of summer school and her new job as a lifeguard had left her with little time to look at the calendar. She hadn’t looked at the newspaper sales ads lately either. She had only a few hours before the stores closed for the day; she always presented her dad with his gift on Sunday morning before church.

As Jessica entered the mall she noticed a few shoppers who looked as though they were in the same predicament she now found herself in. “How do you find the right gift when you are under such time restraints?” she wondered.

She knew her dad loved to golf, but he had two sets of clubs, hundreds of golf balls, and enough golfing attire to last a lifetime. Her dad didn’t like to fish, so snatching up a few fishing lures was not an option either.

She walked by shop after shop in the indoor mall, passing displays showing off clothes, DVDs, books, candies, bath products, and furniture. She saw nothing that jumped out at her. She hadn’t talked to her dad in weeks, so he wasn’t able to drop any of the usual subtle clues to what he might be interested in receiving as a Father’s Day present. “That’s it!” Jessica commented to herself as she set off for the Hallmark store.

Frank Adams greeted his daughter on the front porch. “His little girl was little no more,” he thought. He was amazed at how quickly she had transformed into that little girl he bounced on his knee to a beautiful woman who bounced with her own enthusiasm and love for life. He had done a good job raising her, and that was important to him.

She handed him an envelope. He opened the card and read it aloud:

Dear Dad,

I had almost forgotten Father’s Day. And as I scrambled to find the right gift for you, I realized that I hadn’t talked to you in a few weeks. That’s probably why I forgot about this very special day.

So that got me thinking. Why hadn’t we seen each other in weeks? We live only a few miles apart, yet we see very little of each other. Well, I have a bit of a solution to that problem. Since Father’s Day falls on a Sunday, and since I can think of no better day of the week to relax and spend some time with the greatest dad in the world, this card is an invitation to lunch, with me, every Sunday for the next yea, my treat!

The way I figure it, you took me to lunch on Sunday 936 times. I can at least start paying you back. Seriously Dad, I have so much to tell you about, so much to thank you for, and so many questions about how you raised me as a single parent. When I have children of my own, I need to know how to raise them the way you raised me.

I love you, Dad. And if there is one thing I know for sure, it’s that you love me too!


Jessica

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