Father’s Day is around the corner and I don’t know about you, but I struggle every year to get the man in my life something. And my Dad? Pfft. He’s even worse.
See, my husband has no hobbies. No real interests other than the L.A. Lakers and the family. He doesn’t read. Isn’t really into clothes. Doesn’t need another tie. Doesn’t really like gadgets.
See, what I’m working with?
But just because I’m stuck trying to find something doesn’t mean you have to. The good folks over at Home Depot have offered my readers a chance to win a $100 gift card.*
To win, all you have to do is the following: Leave a comment telling me your favorite memory of your dad. Doesn’t have to be long. Something like, “He always made the best pancakes on Sunday morning” will suffice.
*I don’t like to make my giveaways complicated. I don’t like it when people make you follow them on Twitter, leave a comment, write a blog post about it, submit a short video, run a 10K, name your next baby Alex, etc, just to win a $25 Burger King card. I, for one, don’t have time to be checking all these different places to make sure you complied. I’m lazy.
Simple enough? The contest ends tomorrow at 5 p.m. (See, I told you I like to keep things easy.) I’ll select a winner at random. (See, even easier.)
Good luck!
My Dad and I were a lot closer during my young childhood (I grew up and got all complicated, go figure) but when I think of my Dad now I think of us simply just reading together. I only visited my dad every other weekend as a child, but him reading to me those few nights, making the silly voices and us giggling together was priceless. It’s such a simple memory but it still brings smiles nearly 20 years later.
And what’s funny, is now that I’m older and we don’t know how to talk with each other anymore, we bond over things like house work and computers. Last summer we painted their hallway together and it was great! This gift card would be a chance to do something like that together with him again
My dad taught me to cook my first dish–scrambled eggs–at age six. I thought they were the yummiest thing EVER! Made them everyday for about a month. He helped me make and eat them everytime, though in hindsight I know he was probably totally sick of them by day 4 😉
My favorite memory of my Dad and I involves food, which should surprise no one who knows either of us. In particular, my Dad would travel from our home in Queens over an hour to our favorite bakery in the Bronx and buy us a strawberry shortcake. Just thinking about it makes my mouth water. He would bring it home and we would ceremoniously cut huge pieces for each of us and devour it with milk. I know this is not some hallmark kind of memory, but just the shared eating of cake together like that was so special to me. I guess sharing a treat with someone you love can make an mundane event and really special one.
My dad and I just developed a close relationship nearly two years ago when I got married. We’ve become closer since I’ve given birth to his first and only grandchild, Ellis.
My favorite memory though is from when I was about 7 or 8. I had the stomach flu and couldn’t keep anything down. My mom couldn’t get off of work to take care of me, so my dad (in the navy at the time) stayed home to take care of me. He fed me chicken noodle soup and stayed with me in my room all day until my mom got home.
“Butterfly Kisses”
This is a popular song. I cried the first time I heard it. And, I tear up each time I hear it. I found it while trying to find a song for my father and I to dance to at my wedding. The first time I ever danced with my father was at my wedding. Somehow I was able to savage my makeup during the dance. But, I will always remember that dance as a transition from being “daddy’s little girl” to a wife.
I do not have a single memory that significantly stands out for my daddy. All I know is that he has always been there for me. He has always supported me and shown me how much he loved me unconditionally. I have never wanted for anything. Even now that I am married, he still has not hesitated to help and support both me and my husband. He is an extraordinary man.
i just wanted to say that i feel you tara on your struggle cuz my hubby is the exact same way. so this year, i got creative and am not going to be bouncing from store to store in search of gifts.
Driving with my dad from Tallahassee, Fl to Baltimore, Md. Absolutely the best time I’ve ever had with him. He drove the Penske truck full of my stuff while I drove my car. When we arrived in Baltimore at midnight he drove home and went to work the next morning. The world’s greatest dad!
My Dad is soo excited right now-I am expecting his first grandchild and probably only one in the next couple weeks. He can’t be here for the birth as he is unable to travel right now but told me that knowing he ius going to be a “grandpa” has totally changed his attitude and he has started taking better care of himself so he can travel when he is better
My favorite memories of my dad were when he taught me how to drive — at the ripe age of 14! Before I even had a learner’s permit, he had me out on the highway learning to change lanes. He took me to an old industrial park and used trash cans as parked cars, but I still never got the hang of parallel parking.
I guess it was valuable for more than memories, because I’ve never had so much as a parking ticket.
Well, funny you should mention it, but among my favorite memories of my dad is his pancakes, but they were Saturday morning and always tasted of a hint of banana and were the size of the plate
yum, your making me want one!
emily
I did not really know my dad until I was a teenager. When I came to stay at his house, he gave me a few cans of paint and told me that I could paint whatever I wanted on my walls to make it feel like home. I busted out a twelve foot mural — my first real artwork — and now support my own family with my paintings. I hope to give my own children the sense of freedom and confidence that my father instilled in me that day.
Tara, I love your blog! I am a young mother of three children, as well as a professional artist. Your words have been inspirational
Thank you!
Man, you all have great stories. Sooo glad I’m picking the winner at random because it’s too hard to choose! I wish I had more than one card to give away!
He always told the best stories. You know how on the Cosby show, Cliff always told all these pointless stories but had really good intentions and/or some embedded life lesson to learn while you sat and suffered through his pointlessness?
Well that was my dad. He always had a story and some funny little saying that I always remembered.
Now that I have kids, he tells them the same stories and my sister and I laugh hysterically and sometimes finish them for him. He says he’s mad we remember… but I secretly think he loves it!
My favorite memory of my dad is when he and I traveled to Chicago for his class reunion, and as an adult woman I danced with my father. Memories of my dad will dance in my heart forever.
I have lots of great memories, but the one that sticks out is when my daddy tried to comb my hair. I was about 4 years old and this was his first (and last) attempt. My mom went to the hair salon (for the entire day) and although Dad was great at taking care of me, he was hopeless when it came to my hair. He basically spent all day playing with it. By the time my mom came home my head looked like a bird’s nest and we all dissolved into a fit of giggles. Looking back, it still makes me laugh.
My favorite memory of my dad was when he was a police officer. He’d come home late and wake me up to tell me about the things he’d done on his patrol, but he always turned them into fairy tales. Instead of saying he’d arrested a very tall man, he’d tell me he’d wrestled a giant. I grew up thinking of him as a knight, and even when I was old enough to know the truth I still pictured him on white horse directing traffic, or sword fighting some vandals.
My best memory of my Dad was in elementary school. For an assignment, we had to color in a shirt we were given for our Field Day. The shirt had 3 ballons on it and we were given the choice of what colors to use and what materials (crayons, markers, etc.) we wanted to use. I brought my shirt home, fully intending to use magic marker and my mom told me to ask my dad for help. My father, who is an artist in his spare time, told me that we should paint the shirt. I was young and kind of lazy, so I left the shirt to my Dad for the next two days. The morning of Field Day, I was nervous because I hadn’t checked on the shirt to see if it was done. He brought me the shirt and I was amazed. He painted the balloons in yellow, red and blue oil based paint. I remember the shirt being vibrant and beautiful. The balloons looked so real. I wore the shirt to school and I was the envy of the whole class. I even got a star for the best shirt. It made me feel so good and it’s the one of the best memories I have of my Dad.
I love my father because he has always put his family first. He taught my sister and me the value of education and sacrificed so that we could have the best education possible. When I was little, it was my father rather than my mother who researched daycares, studied curricula at various schools, and sought out after school and summer opportunities for me. He was more than a father present in the home. He was an active, loving and involved father. I will forever be grateful.
I love my father because he has always put his family first. He taught my sister and me the value of education and sacrificed so that we could have the best education possible. When I was little, it was my father rather than my mother who researched daycares, studied curricula at various schools, and sought out after school and summer opportunities for me. He was more than a father present in the home. He was an active, loving and involved father. I will forever be grateful.
OOps! I pressed submit without actually leaving a memory. My favorite memory of my father happened on the way to school one morning. He had just finished pumping gas and had returned to the car very irritated. Apparently, he attempted to pay for his gas with a check and the store clerk demanded to see ID, but had not required ID of the white customer in front of him who also paid by check. My father returned to the car and told my sister and me to never allow people to treat us differently because of our race. He said stand up for yourselves. Demand respect. Speak up for what is right. That morning has always stayed with me. And I have always spoken up for myself and others who are treated unfairly.
My dad loves The Temptations. He always has and I am sure he always will. Before my sisters and I begin to develop our own likes and dislikes in music he would play The Temptations and sing their songs to us, (my dad is no singer, I think he is tone deaf). As we got older, we knew the songs because he played them so much. On weekends we would have family talent shows. My dad, my sisters, and I would sing and perform dances to “My Girl”, “Ain’t too Proud to Beg”, “Papa was a rolling Stone” and many others until my mom would look like she was going insane! Those were great times for us all. Last year for my father’s birthday, my sisters and I made a video of us singing and dancing to some of those songs. He loved it. You know, there is nothing like a loving father.
One of the best memories I have of my dad were getting woken up every sunday morning with a “Hey, let’s go get coffee”. He worked 6 days a week and sunday mornings was the only time I would see him clean shaven and sober. Even though he had his faults the couple of hours he spent with me each week I will always treasure.
My dad always played outside with us. We used to live up north and he would spend hours in the winter helping us build elaborate snow forts. In the summer we’d help him garden and mow the lawn and he’d take us fishing and hiking. I have so many amazing childhood memories!