{"id":1148,"date":"2012-06-17T09:00:01","date_gmt":"2012-06-17T14:00:01","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.barbdahlgren.com\/?p=1148"},"modified":"2012-06-14T21:35:16","modified_gmt":"2012-06-15T02:35:16","slug":"happy-fathers-day-2012","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/barbdahlgren.com\/?p=1148","title":{"rendered":"Happy Father’s Day 2012"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

This year for Mother\u2019s Day I ran an Erma Bombeck column from 1974 that still rings true.\u00a0 Being a gifted writer, Erma gave equal time to the fathers in 1973 and I thought I would share it with you as well.\u00a0 Though Erma passed away in 1996 her wit and humor live on.\u00a0 Some writings are extraordinary \u2013 just like fathers\u2026<\/p>\n

When God Created Fathers\u00a0\u00a0 <\/strong><\/p>\n

When the good Lord was creating fathers, He started with a tall frame. \u00a0<\/p>\n

And a female angel nearby said, \u201cWhat kind of father is that? \u00a0If you\u2019re going to make children so close to the ground, why have you put fathers up so high? \u00a0He won\u2019t be able to shoot marbles without kneeling, tuck a child in bed without bending, or even kiss a child without a lot of stooping.\u201d<\/p>\n

And God smiled and said, \u201cYes, but if I make him child size, who would children have to look up to?\u201d<\/p>\n

And when God made a father\u2019s hands, they were large and sinewy.<\/p>\n

And the angel shook her head sadly and said, “Do You know what You\u2019re doing? \u00a0Large hands are clumsy. \u00a0They can\u2019t manage diaper pins, small buttons, rubber bands on pony tails or even remove splinters caused by baseball bats.\u201d<\/p>\n

God smiled and said, \u201cI know, but they\u2019re large enough to hold everything a small boy empties from his pockets at the end of a day\u2026yet small enough to cup a child\u2019s face.\u201d<\/p>\n

Then God molded long, slim legs and broad shoulders.<\/p>\n

The angel nearly had a heart attack. \u201cBoy, this is the end of the week, all right,\u201d she clucked. \u00a0\u201cDo You realize You just made a father without a lap? \u00a0How is he going to pull a child close to him without the kid falling between his legs?\u201d<\/p>\n

God smiled and said, \u201cA mother needs a lap. \u00a0A father needs strong shoulders to pull a sled, balance a boy on a bicycle or hold a sleepy head on the way home from the circus.\u201d<\/p>\n

God was in the middle of creating two of the largest feet anyone had ever seen when the angel could contain herself no longer. \u00a0\u00a0\u201cThat\u2019s not fair. \u00a0Do You honestly think those large boats are going to dig out of bed early in the morning when the baby cries? \u00a0Or walk through a small birthday party without crushing at least three of the guests?\u201d<\/p>\n

And God smiled and said, \u201cThey\u2019ll work. \u00a0You\u2019ll see. \u00a0They\u2019ll support a small child who wants to \u2018ride a horse to Banbury Cross\u2019 or scare off mice at the summer cabin, or display shoes that will be a challenge to fill.\u201d<\/p>\n

God worked throughout the night, giving the father few words, but a firm authoritative voice; eyes that see everything, but remain calm and tolerant. \u00a0\u00a0Finally, almost as an afterthought, He added tears. Then He turned to the angel and said, \u201cNow are you satisfied that he can love as much as a mother?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u00a0And the angel shutteth up!<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

This year for Mother\u2019s Day I ran an Erma Bombeck column from 1974 that still rings true.\u00a0 Being a gifted writer, Erma gave equal time to the fathers in 1973 and I thought I would share it with you as … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1],"tags":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/barbdahlgren.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1148"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/barbdahlgren.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/barbdahlgren.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/barbdahlgren.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/barbdahlgren.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1148"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/barbdahlgren.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1148\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/barbdahlgren.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1148"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/barbdahlgren.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1148"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/barbdahlgren.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1148"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}