Father's Day - The Ones Who Show Up
| Category: | Holidays |
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| Notes: | For the meeting before Father's Day (the third Sunday in June in the United States). Written to include Scouts who are being raised by a grandfather, uncle, stepdad, foster dad, or another caregiver, and Scouts whose father has died or isn't in their life. Be aware of the Scouts in your unit for whom this day may be hard. Pairs with mothers-day-one-real-thank-you. |
Father's Day started in 1910 because of a young woman in Spokane, Washington, named Sonora Smart Dodd. Her mother had died, and her father, a Civil War veteran, raised her and her five brothers by himself. She thought a man like that deserved a day of his own.
What she was really honoring wasn't anything big or dramatic. It was the everyday showing up. Getting up early to go to work. Being there at dinner. Teaching a kid how to ride a bike, throw a ball, or fix a leaky faucet. Showing up again the next day, and the day after that.
A lot of us have people like that. For some of you it's your dad. For others, it's a grandfather, an uncle, a stepdad, a foster dad, or a coach or leader who stepped in when you needed someone. And some of you might be missing a dad tonight. Whoever that person is for you, the one who keeps showing up, this day belongs to them.
Here's a challenge for this week. Find one time this weekend to tell them something you learned from them. A skill, a saying, a way of handling things. Most people who show up like that never hear what difference it made.
And someday, a long time from now, you might be that person for somebody else. Pay attention to how they do it.