Dads are different. We get it. But Father’s Day is just as important.

This entire website is a dedication to what it means to be a Dad. It’s about compromise, it’s about fear, it’s about leadership, it’s about learning. It’s about patience, it’s about play, it’s about participation, it’s about being last on the list.

Mother’s Day is about brunches, flowers and phone calls. It’s easy to see and appreciate the impact Mother’s make in the world. They are the heartbeat of the family and society. They are the sun around which the planets of the family solar system orbit. Moms matter.

When it comes to economic impact, Father’s Day pulls in about 2/3 of what Mother’s Day makes for companies. It’s not that we love Dad any less, but we just don’t appreciate his work as much.

To help you appreciate the men in your life, here are three other Fathers with stories on Fatherhood.

My dad, Georges:

Becoming a Dad for the majority is the easy part.

Being a Great Dad requires commitment, dedication and giving up a lot of “self” for the good of the child and family.

Balancing work, studies and dad work is difficult. Quality time is important, but so is the quantity of time you spend together.

I’m forever thankful for the many great memories I experienced with my three children. The difficult years of guiding them to adulthood are far behind me but still I worry when a hiccup appears in their life journey.

The important thing now is, that I’m here for them if they need me and they know that.

I’m very thankful that I’ve lived long enough to have three grandchildren which I fully enjoy and take the advantage of visiting them or having them over whenever possible. The neat part of being a Grandpapa is that once you’re exhausted from playing with them, you merely turn around and hand them over to their father.

DadCAMP contributor, Anthony Floyd:

What does being a dad mean? So many things, from primal to modern, mundane to extraordinary: Hunter, gatherer, provider. Fount of information. Teller of tall tales. Slayer of monsters in-the-dark. Medic. Peace-keeper. Good cop. Bad cop. Role-model. Friend. Witness.

It’s that last one that often astonishes me. Witnessing my kids learning something new, doing something new, experiencing the wonder of something new, these are things that often make my eyes go a bit misty. There’s no substitute in the world for witnessing pure joy and excitement in your kids.

An anonymous Dad who is now dealing with the challenges of single fatherhood:

Fatherhood is a slowly walked journey. With each step you divide yourself in half: you one side, your child on the other, and then as your foot touches the ground you put those pieces together into a whole. Repeat one million tiny times.

The beauty of Fatherhood, for me, as a single parent, is that it is the ultimate expression of masculine individuality. I can claim it to be exactly what I want for me and my child, uncompromisingly, and in doing so I model for my child all the things I want for her.

For more thoughts on the day, check out the entry JP Holecka posted yesterday and read Graeme McRanor‘s essay in The Vancouver Sun.

Happy Father’s Day.

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