50 Reasons Why It's Cool to Be a Father on Father's Day (and Every Other Day of the Year)

It's Father's Day 2011. Today doesn't get near as much attention as Mother's Day but that's okay, because most mother's out there have had to put up with a lot more than most fathers. There are some pretty cool things about being a father so today's Realtor's Toolbox is dedicated to all the fathers out there who get a chance to influence their kids each and every day.

Here are 50 Reasons Why It's Cool to be a Father

1. A limitless number of chances to answer the question “why?”



2. You get to be the “all time fish tank cleaner” and “dog poop picker upper.”


3. You get the honor of packing the car before all family vacations.


4. You also are lucky enough to get to unpack the car when you arrive at your vacation destination and when you get home.


5. You are called upon to kill any large bug, spider or bee that may find its way into the house.


6. You’re allowed to eat all the left over pizza crusts and half-eaten burgers when the kids get “full.”


7. You will almost always be the second contact on the Emergency Contact forms at school (behind Mom, of course)


8. Having the honor of staying up late when the kids are out babysitting, at a friend’s house or at a movie.

9. You’re the official “sampler” for things coming out of the “Easy Bake Oven” and "Snoopy Sno-Cone Machine."


10. Being the “on call” parent when one of you children is at a sleep over in case they don’t make it through the night.


11. You get to talk your kids out of spending their money on things you know they don’t need.


12. You get to sometimes let your kids spend their money on things they don’t need, just so you have something to remind them of the next time they ask for something they don’t really need.


13. The challenge of not really knowing if or how “mom” answered a child’s question.


14. Reading Harry Potter (or any book) to your son.


15. Tucking your kids in each night.


16. Playing catch, pitching batting practice and hitting ground balls to your son before baseball games.


17. Cheering on your kids sporting efforts – win, lose or draw.


18. Being authoritative enough to “talk to your children” on the telephone when you’re away from home and they aren’t behaving nicely for Mom.


19. Running to the store for aspirin or other medicine when someone is sick at home.


20. Receiving deductions for your dependents on your annual tax return.


21. Finding places in your office or on your desk for artistic creations made by your kids.


22. Being the adult your spouse sometimes desperately needs to talk to after spending an entire day talking with nothing but children.


23. You get to check out all the "scary sounds" at night time.


24. You get to set examples.


25. You get to say “because Dad said so!”


26. You get to embarrass your kids in front of their friends. Dancing and singing seem to work the best.


27. It’s easier to sneak the first piece of pizza when you go to pick it up


28. Serving as judge and jury when the kids have fights.


29. You get to smile at those times when you think to yourself, “that’s the same way my Dad would have done it.”

30. You usually get the remote when the entire family is all in the same room watching TV.


31. You get to have a chair that is known as “Dad’s Chair” in the family room.


32. You get to light up with pride when people ask about your children.


33. You're the “chief troubleshooter” when things don't work - like the grill, the toilet, the sink and anything electric in the house.


34. You actually get some say on the décor in the house. Well, that's only if  it’s a room called "the basement" or "the garage."


35. You get to coach your kid’s sports teams.


36. You get to teach your children how to build a fort using just pillows, blankets and furniture.


37. You’ll always have the chance to demonstrate your toughness if a jar is too difficult to open by anyone else in the household.


38. It’s a really cool feeling of pride when you take your family on a well deserved vacation.


39. Explaining sporting events to your kids.

40. The chance to be “the fun Dad” who goes off the diving

boards at rest period and splashes the kids on the side of the pool.


41. It’s okay to chill out with the kids and watch shows like SpongeBob, Wizards of Waverly Place and iCarly.

42. It’s neat to get the kids to watch educational shows with you like those you’ll find on The National Geographic or Discovery Channels.

43. You get to proudly say “I remember this one” when watching Looney Tunes.


44. You get to decide if the kids have been good enough to deserve dessert when eating out.


45. You get to be a “safety blanket” after bad dreams, when someone hurts themselves or during thunderstorms.


46. Counting to three actually makes people listen.

47. Chance are you’re in more vacation photos with the kids than the wife is.


48. Nobody goes in the attic or the crawl space without you.


49. You realize that your own Dad was right about more things than he was wrong…even though you didn’t think so back then.


50. You get to be the “guest of honor” on days like today.

If you're lucky enough to have a father who's still alive, I hope you'll take a moment to reach out to him and tell him you love him. Be sure to reach out to your father-in-law and thank him for any guidance and support he has shown to you since you've been a father of his grandchildren. And if you really want to enjoy your day, be sure to thank your kid's mother for all she does to make you a better father.

Sadly, this will be my 11th Father's Day without my Dad. I'll get a chance to spend some time with him when I visit him at the cemetery later today. Earlier this year I had a chance to honor him in a blog post that has become one of the most read Realtor Toolbox posts of all time.I hope you'll take some time to read the 11 Years of  Lessons from Sean's Dad .

May you continue to build relationships, solve problems and have fun.

 

Happy Father's Day