Dada Day in Denver

It appears that, after two and a half decades into the 21st century, Father's Day is making a comeback, a reboot, as the kids say these days. This lower-case holiday has been kicked about and shoved to the side in recent times, probably due to the revolving door of gender roles and, more likely, the sad fact that in order to build something up, we have to tear something down. Papa's Day will never reach the exalted status that Mothers have, so it currently sits further down the popularity chart placed above Arbor Day, but trailing Earth Day thanks to an aggressive marketing campaign by the Green Party.

This info about the much maligned Dia del Padre isn't new by any means. Certainly Chris Rock moaned and groaned about it about 25 years ago one of his iconic stand-up specials.  Another quarter century before that, Chuck Jones turned out a brilliant Warner Brothers cartoon on the subject entitled A Bear for Punishment. Sure, it celebrated Father, but at a price, a harbinger of things to come perhaps? 

Technically, I'm not a father. I've never sired any children...to my knowledge, if I wanted to drop the spurious playa card in order to impress nobody. I do hold the position of stepfather, though I've never been called upon to wield any parental duties per se especially since my wife's children were full grown and didn't have to put up with any clumsy platitudes from this guy right here. I love these guys to Jupiter and back and they have always accepted me as more that guy their mom hangs with. But the father part of the step process sometimes felt like a participation trophy, which has everything to do with me and not them.

But thanks to this trio of amazing human beings and great timing on my part, I reached the next level, earning me the privilege to be the Mack Daddy of them all-Grandpa, damn it. While I've always had age issues due to my latent immaturity/insecurity, I've never had any qualms being a grandparent and I cherish this honor with my very being. In fact, it has brought me closer to my stepson and daughters in the process and finally allowed me to be not only feel, but to actually become a part of this swell bunch of people that I call my family and not the outsider I used to consider myself to be. So when Father's Day rolls around and I get accolades from the fam over the years, this truly closes that gap for me.

This year, we happen to be to find ourselves in Denver once again visiting Colorado contingent of the clan. My youngest granddaughter is inexplicably turning 5 years old while, as a bonus feature, Father's Day is occurring as I write. The fact that I am spending part of this day away from them and scribbling says a lot, doesn't it? My wife, the matriarch of this bunch and I are always treated like royalty when we visit and this time is certainly no exception-eating, drinking and celebrating like the bleeding Windsors. It's not so much that they spoil us rotten but overcome us with the love that accompanies it all. I, as Granddad/Grandpa/Grandfather/Zeydah/Ol' Man River have finally accepted that this day is not for pater familias only. My hard candy shell finally cracked and the milk chocolate of my heart continues to melt for those who have embraced me into their bosom (Did I just hear an ew?) This year, along with various greetings far and wide, I was fortunate enough to actually celebrate the day along with my SIL (son-in-law for the acronym challenged) and this rare occasion instantly became a deposit into the savings account of my memory bank with a high interest rate. I can return to this day in times of woe to help dig me out of whatever mess I've got myself into, mental or otherwise so I can see the light of day that this family, this cavalcade of characters of the past, present and future have shown me time and time again and I can honestly say:

Thank you

I love you

and Happy Father's Day to me.