Julie Samrick
Kid Focused
June is a great time for Father's Day. There are barbecues to be had, baseball games to attend, and other fun, outdoorsy things to do, like fishing and camping. But why did we choose this specific month for dads to revel in our gratitude?
It was Sonora Smart Dodd of Spokane, Wash. who officially proposed a national holiday for fathers in 1909, wanting to honor her own father, William Smart, a Civil War veteran who'd been widowed and left to raise six children on a farm by himself.
The first Father's Day celebration was held in June of 1910. Dodd actually chose June because it was the month of her father's birth.
Father's Day finally became a national public holiday in 1972 when President Nixon declared the third Sunday in June to forever be the day we honor the fathers and father figures in our lives.
Fathers are low maintenance. Florists, greeting card makers, telephone companies and restaurants say their biggest profits of the year are on Mother's Day. Always treated like a queen on that special day, I tell my husband he can do anything he wants on his special day too. When the kids were little, that meant no dirty diapers to change. This year, I asked if he'd like to go to a baseball game or have a special meal. But all he wants to do is go for a run and then work in the yard later in the afternoon.
With those kinds of simple requests, every Sunday could be Father's Day!
Julie Samrick is a stay-at-home mom of four young kids and the founder of Kid Focused, a site devoted to children and family issues. Subscribe to the free Kid Focused newsletter delivered weekly to your inbox and connect with us on Facebook too. Permission granted for use on DrLaura.com.
