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

What Do You Do with a Calamity Day?

It was reported that this past Tuesday, there was snow in 49 out of 50 states. Only the residents of Florida - aptly named The Sunshine State - didn't have any of the white stuff fall to the ground that day.

Some places got trace amounts of snow while others were covered with inches or even feet. Friends I have in Northern Alabama and the suburbs of Atlanta were excited by a snowstorm that dumped anywhere from 4" to 10" of snow because it is a rare occurrence for them and many of the children in the area had never had a chance to see that much snow, let alone play in it.

"Snow Days" are when school or work is closed because of the snow. They are also called "Calamity Days." Depending on what part of the country, the number of "Calamity Days" your school district or local government allows depends on the local climate. Here in Central Ohio, schools are allowed to have three days out of school due to weather. But they don't cash those in when it starts to flurry. It's got to be pretty deep or treacherous conditions before they'll consider letting the kids stay home.

As most could imagine, when a snow storm hits the South, the cities and towns aren't equipped to handle the plowing and snow removal needed to ensure safety of the residents. Schools and businesses shut down instantly when a few flakes more than a snowball hit the ground. At the other end of the spectrum, my friends in Minnesota or Montana pretty much need a blizzard of biblical proportions to get them out of school or work.

Kids live for snow days because they can sleep in and then they get to go out to play with friends out in the snow - skiing, sledding, building snowmen or snow forts or having snow ball fights. Or they could stay in their pajamas all day and watch iCarly, Wizards of Waverly Place, Good Luck Charlie or some other parent-repelling show on Nickelodeon or Disney Channel.

Here's the questions to you. How do you spend a "Calamity Day"?

What would you do if you suddenly had 24 hours off? You didn't plan on it, it just happened?

Would you keep right on working because technology has allowed us to stay tethered? Would your iPad or iPhone allow your work to happen?

Could you catch up on your blogs you follow?

What's the book you're reading right now? Would you be able to curl up and finish it off?

Would it be a good time to clean out your emails and get your inbox down to zero?

Could you contact 10, 20 or even spend the entire day reaching out to clients and people you know just to "build relationships" or see if you could help "solve problems"?

We all seemed to pray or dream about "snow days" when we were kids so we could do whatever we wanted. Now as adults, we seem to eagerly anticipate the weekend but even then, our agendas are usually full of activities and obligations - many times work related.

Think about what you could get done on your next "Calamity Day."

The forecast is calling for cold temperatures with a good chance of snow. Are you ready?