Dads - A Treasure Beyond Measure

It is Father's Day. If you are fortunate enough to still have your Dad, remember to show him your love today. If you and your father are on the outs, do something about it, while you still can, or you may regret it forever.

I had a great father, so much of who I am today is because of him. My dad was a super hero in my eyes, he was invincible as far as I was concerned, and I was his little girl. January marked ten years since he died, still feels like yesterday. I see him in the faces of my children though, especially my son, and that is a tremendous comfort. Father's Day was really sad for me before husband and I had children, but it gets to be a happy day again because now it's about honoring my children's father in addition to remembering my own Dad.

Below is a song from Christina Aguilera, "Hurt" and the first time I heard it was on my car radio - I had to pull over because I could not drive through the tears. My dad and I had a great relationship, but I cannot express how badly I wish I could have him back, even for just a little while,  so I could tell him again how much he means to me.

These are the lyrics:

Seems like it was yesterday when I saw your face
You told me how proud you were, but I walked away
If only I knew what I know today, ooh, ooh

I would hold you in my arms, I would take the pain away
Thank you for all you've done, forgive all your mistakes
There's nothing I wouldn't do to hear your voice again
Sometimes I wanna call you but I know you won't be there

Oh, I'm sorry for blaming you
For everything I just couldn't do
And I've hurt myself by hurting you

Some days I feel broke inside but I won't admit
Sometimes I just wanna hide 'cause it's you I miss
And it's so hard to say goodbye when it comes to this, ooh

Would you tell me I was wrong? Would you help me understand?
Are you looking down upon me? Are you proud of who I am?
There's nothing I wouldn't do to have just one more chance
To look into your eyes and see you looking back

Oh, I'm sorry for blaming you
For everything I just couldn't do
And I've hurt myself, oh

If I had just one more day
I would tell you how much that I've missed you
Since you've been away

Oh, it's dangerous
It's so out of line
To try and turn back time

I'm sorry for blaming you
For everything I just couldn't do
And I've hurt myself
By hurting you

Please visit Pundit & Pundette for Jill's Traditional Father's Day post filled with wonderful quotes, HERE.

Pamela Geller has a lovely Father's Day post at Atlas Shrugs, asking you to remember all the Dads who are away from their families right now as they serve our country:

To all the dads in the military that can't be home ........ G-d bless you, thank you, we love you and pray for you everyday. Please show your gratitude by sending a care package to the troops. Each care package will include a personal message written by you where you can express your gratitude to our military.
  Remember them and let them know you love them. Contribute here. (RTWT)

I cannot stress enough how important fathers are, not just to their immediate families, but also to the whole of society.

Doug Ross has a very sobering and terrifying MUST READ post, "The Coming crime Wave" which clearly demonstrates the link between fatherless children and not just crime, but violent crime:

Single-parent families correlate to higher crime rates

In 1995, Dr. Patrick Fagan wrote a seminal summary of the situation: "Over the past thirty years, the rise in violent crime parallels the rise in families abandoned by fathers... High-crime neighborhoods are characterized by high concentrations of families abandoned by fathers... The rate of violent teenage crime corresponds with the number of families abandoned by fathers...

"Neighborhoods with a high degree of religious practice are not high-crime neighborhoods... Even in high-crime inner-city neighborhoods, well over 90 percent of children from safe, stable homes do not become delinquents. By contrast only 10 percent of children from unsafe, unstable homes in these neighborhoods avoid crime... Criminals capable of sustaining marriage gradually move away from a life of crime after they get married."
...
"[R]esearch strongly suggests both that young adults and teens raised in single-parent homes are more likely to commit crimes, and that communities with high rates of family fragmentation (especially unwed childbearing) suffer higher crime rates as a result."

For example, a 23-year study found that nearly 90% of the change in violent crime rates can be attributed to the change in percentages of out-of-wedlock births (divorce rates, on the other hand, had no relationship with crime).
...
In The Atlantic Monthly, Barbara Dafoe Whitehead noted that the "relationship [between single-parent families and crime] is so strong that controlling for family configuration erases the relationship between race and crime and between low income and crime. This conclusion shows up time and again in the literature. The nation's mayors, as well as police officers, social workers, probation officers, and court officials, consistently point to family break up as the most important source of rising rates of crime."

Let me repeat the most important statement -- "controlling for family configuration erases the relationship between race and crime and between low income and crime."

Single-parent families generally lead to increased levels of crime; and there are no significant differences between blacks, whites, or any other race when it comes to this simple fact.
READ THE WHOLE THING

Now I don't mean to bring you down, so here is an excerpt from a delightful article by Mathew Archibold, "12 Reasons It's Harder to be a Dad than a Mom":

There are thousands and thousands of Mommy blogs out there detailing the trials and difficulties of being a Mom. There aren’t a whole lot of Daddy sites out there. Or maybe there are, it’s just called ESPN. But regardless, I’m here to explain to you the many reasons it might just be harder to be a Dad than it is being a Mom. Here’s my top 12:
1) When we gain weight we can’t blame the pregnancies.
2) When one of your daughters gets in a fight at school and your other daughter yells, “Sweep the leg Johnny” everyone blames you.
3) Our fingers aren’t made for little buttons. They’re just not. If buttons needed hammering we’d be the ones to call. Finessing buttons? Not so much.
4) Dads can’t guilt our children by saying, “We carried you for nine months.”
5) “Wait until your Mommy gets home” just doesn’t sound as scary. It just doesn’t.

READ THE REST

Here is A Father's Day Salute from Funny Or Die, I hope you'll like it as much as I did:

A Fathers Day Salute - watch more funny videos

Happy Father's Day! 

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