Father's Day celebration

How did we celebrate Father's day?

Since it's Sunday, as we normally do and together with my mom, we went to my in-laws to have our lunch there and since it's Father's day, I offered to buy some ice cream for all of us to celebrate the occasion and for my husband, my father-in-law and my brother-in-law.

We stayed for an hour or so. As usual, our son played with his cousins. But today, he played more with his Lolo Alan, which caught our attention. He was so fond of his Lolo than usual, sitting on his lap, pulling a chair to sit in front of him, playing with his toy cars with his Lolo.

The sight made me think of my father. Had he be still alive today, they might be super buddies with my son, I good reason is my son is the only grandson in my family's side.

We then went to drop off my parents-in-law in one of the malls in Quezon City for their date. We then proceed to hear the 4pm mass at the St. Paul the Apostle Parish, also in Quezon City. I was personally glad to have heard mass there today. The priest not only greeted the fathers who were there but also requested them to go to the altar to receive his blessings. So today, my husband is again blessed.

From there we went to buy our gift for my husband...a pair of sneakers of his choice (that's how we are, we buy presents not to surprise each other but rather we buy presents that we want to remember that it was given to us by each other). As other men, my husband loves shoes but what makes him uniquely different from other men is that despite loving shoes, he only has a few pairs. Why? because, since he likes the shoes so much that he wears it till it tears. This new pair will replace his current fave pair - which lasted for a year!

And instead of dining out, my husband opted to go home early than usual to give him ample time to cook his favorite dish, tuna spaghetti!

Today wasn't really the perfect day for the father in our family...he even woke up early to have the transformer of the ref replaced and was "on call" in case my brother decides to be brought to the hospital due to his excruciating gallbladder-related pain.

So how did we spend Father's day? We spent it with my husband's loved ones - not so much of the extravagance but more of the quality time together and with the day's glitches, it makes it one Father's day to remember.

Father's Day

Father's day falls on the 3rd Sunday of June and for this year, it will be on the 20th. What can we give our husbands, being the father of our children, same also to our fathers and some of our brothers...sometimes even to some mothers who stand as fathers as well and some people who acts as fathers to others?

Here are a few suggestions that might help us decide to give as gifts to the Fathers in our lives:

1. A personalized Father's day greeting card - allow or guide our children in making one for their dad. The cards will be more special as it was personally crafted by their children or wife.

2. Cook him his favorite food - a special meal prepared with love and honor for one, if not the most special person in our life. To make it more special, add a twist to his favorite dish.

3. Since it's a Sunday, for most of us, we go to church, offer some prayers of thanksgiving for him then treat him to his favorite restaurant, less hassle for the wife and more time to spend with the family on his special day.

4. If he is a pet-lover, give him a puppy or cat, cuddly beings that are able to show their affection to their owners.

5. Plants, flowering of fruit-bearing - this reminds me of my Papang, who will appreciate this so much if he's still with us.

6. Men are gadget-people, if you can afford, gift them with the most latest in cellular phones or laptops, iPods and/or iPads, digital camera, you just have to know what he's up to in terms of gadget.

7. Give his car a good clean. Have it car-washed or if you may do it yourself, go ahead, he'll surely appreciate it.

These are just a few suggestions to make the "dads" in our lives special. But the best thing our fathers can receive from us is our unconditional love and respect for them. No matter who or what they are, they are an integral part of who and what we are now.

To my grandfather and my Papang, who are both angels in my life, hovering above us, guiding and taking care of us Happy Father's Day, we miss you!

and to my husband, who is such a wonderful father to our 2 children, a good provider, a disciplinarian, a spoiler, a friend, someone who will love and take good care of us no matter what, a dedicated husband and father, Happy Father's Day!!!