Does it really exist?

I don’t know about you, but I find guys to be very hard to shop for.  The first year I was married, I took my husband to Home Depot for his birthday and let him pick out a cordless drill; that was the only thing I knew he wanted, but there was no way I’d be able to find the right one myself.  I can always get him a new tie or cufflinks, but there’s a limit on how many of those he actually needs, since he only wears them once a week (unlike my tichels, for example!).

I like to be practical with gifts – I’m not going to get him a framed copy of some sappy ode-to-daddies poem, or a meat branding iron with his initials (just in case he gets his hamburgers mixed up with the neighbor’s?).  He doesn’t have any obvious hobbies like golf or Dungeons and Dragons or Civil War re-enacting.  He already has a bowling ball.  Our diaper bag is already gender-neutral, so he doesn’t feel like an idiot carrying it.  I got him a new wallet for his birthday, and a Swiss army knife for Chanukah.  What more is there?

As of now, my plan is to get a babysitter and take him bowling.  Maybe I’ll squelch my inner Yankees fan and get a cute Phillies outfit for the baby, to honor his affiliations over mine.  Perhaps some steak for dinner?

In the attempt to get some perspective, I looked up the origins of Fathers’ Day.  According to history.com, it has been celebrated in the U.S. since around 1910, although it did not become an official holiday with a set date until 1972.  Shortly after Mother’s Day started to be celebrated, a woman named Sonora Smart Dodd came up with Father’s Day.  Her father was a Civil War veteran who had raised her and her siblings after their mother died.  It actually started out as a religious event, and people would wear a red rose in honor of a living father, or a white one in honor of a deceased father.

Ok, that didn’t really help with gift ideas.  I hope you all are doing better than I am.

Related Posts with Thumbnails