It's a weird thing about dads. They don't have the obvious connection to their kids that mothers have.
They don't have nine months of feeling the baby grow inside them, and they don't get to exchange the I-had-so-many-hours-of-labor stories.
But, somehow, they work their way in.
It may not be Dad you run to when you fall off your bike and get your first case of serious road rash. But he's the one you proudly show your scar to.
He's the one who gets most excited about the quarter the Tooth Fairy left the night before. And he's the one who'll pack up his four ratty-haired daughters and take them to a rodeo or carnival at a moment's notice - even if they do have to ride in the back of a pickup.
He'll even go on some of the rides.
Former New York Gov. Mario Cuomo remembered his father:
"I watched a small man with thick calluses on both hands work 15 and 16 hours a day. I saw him once literally bleed from the bottoms of his feet, a man who came here uneducated, alone, unable to speak the language, who taught me all I needed to know about faith and hard work by the simple eloquence of his example."
As Father's Day nears, rather than worry about what gift to buy, spend some time reflecting on the simple eloquence of your own dad.
What have you learned from his example?
Tell him.
