Celebrating Dads

We had a wonderful father’s day celebration with Gauri this year. She knew it was father’s day because she and I were busy preparing card and planning the activities for that day for quite some time.

We hope we treated daddy well. Gauri and I delivered him “bed-tea” "in bed" along with his favorite snacks (I am sure after becoming parents it’s a privilege to wake up to an already-awake-happy-kid, with no need of dragging yourself out of bed and running in full speed to get the little one ready without getting them upset. I would imagine, having Tea in bed must be every parents' dream-come-true). The smile on daddy’s face when he woke up was priceless and the big hug and kiss from Gauri – absolutely heavenly.

Gauri gave baba 2 gifts – a Movie Day Pass (a day of his choice where all he does is sit on the couch and watch his fav movies ALL-Day-Long. Godfather, Starwars, whatever he wishes, snacks and drinks placed at arms distance so he doesn't have to even open the refrigerator or get up from the couch, baby sitting and mommy-sitting all included) …. Hummm does that sound like every guy’s dream day or what?? I am sure daddy was thrilled.

We also found a special SPA place and really cool package for daddy called “Real dads do SPA”. After talking to the spa staff, we were sure it would be a fun experience for daddy and a much relaxing one too.

We spent the evening with 3 other dads and their little ones, two of whom we were meeting for the first time and had much fun making new friends with. While the dads were BBQing and chatting and having good laughs, all the mommies were making sure they keep the little one fully entertained so we didn’t have to look up to dads for any help (well, alteast for a few hours). Gauri played nicely with other kids and was very supportive of dad by trying to remain awake till 9 PM or so. After that she was almost ready to crash and fell asleep on our way back. Thanks to our wonderful friends for planning the BBQ party, we all had wonderful time and made new friends.

I have to admit that we the moms, sometimes take dads for granted and think of them as second parents but in fact it’s far easier to be a father than a dad. The level of personal commitment that our kids require is challenging, sometimes even overwhelming. Without the support of these wonderful life partners whom our kids call “dad”, we would not be able to "survive" - at times.

I found this interesting statistic on Career Builders’ annual Father’s Day survey thought it’s worth sharing:

Survey showed that 37% of working dads would leave their jobs if their spouse made enough money to support the family.

Given the choice, another 38% would take a pay-cut to spend more time with their kids.

FathersAtWork.com reported that 70% of working fathers have a difficult time balancing their professional and personal responsibilities.

When we became parents, we made a life decision that carries more responsibility than any other. Without the commitment and support of both parents I cant imagine how we would ever be able to make these tiny people responsible and good human beings. Thanks to all the dads for being the pillars of support for the family.