It seems like every kind of local baseball or softball league had a playoff this past weekend. Throw in a few foot races and fundraisers and it made for a busy week for our yeoman sports staff. Our congratulations go out to all of the competitors in this past weekend’s action.
Fitting it seems, our local Little League seasons ends just in time for Father’s Day, this Sunday, June 21. An afternoon spent in the yard throwing the ol’ pill around or a father teaching his child how to hit is a trope almost as old as baseball itself.
Unabashedly modeled after Mother’s Day and first officially observed in 1908, Father’s Day sometimes seems like an afterthought, slipped onto the June calendar, disguised as another summer day for Dad to snooze away the afternoon heat in a hammock, which if Dad is lucky, is a lot like his other summer Sundays.
In recent years, we have seen the roles of family and gender expanded and defined and redefined, to the extent the state of change no longer surprises us. However, the essential role of parenthood remains and, biology aside, the essential role of fatherhood is unchanged. Every child needs and wants a role model.
Study after study shows how important a father’s time and attention are to his children.
What hasn’t been studied as much, but we are sure could be easily shown, is just how important the child’s time and attention are for Dad, especially later in life when families grow larger and the hours grow short.
If you are so fortunate to still have a father among the living, make time for him this weekend. Go throw the ol’ pill around. He will appreciate that as much as another tie.
