Happy Father's Day to all you Happy Fathers!

Let's join and give a tribute to all the happy fathers (including my own lovable dad) who deserve to be called Dad. 

What's the first thing you think of when you think of your father? When I think of mine, I think of his smile. He was so in love with Mom, Peggy and me that he seemed to always have a happy face. If you read Sidetracked Home Executives: from pigpen to paradise, you know that we got the disorganized gene from Dad. He threatened to sue us for defamation of character, but of course he was joking and if he really had intended to take us to court, he'd never have gotten around to it.

Dad worked hard delivering gas to farmers who had big tanks to supply their farm equipment. He was so loved by his customers there was hardly a day he didn't come home in his big Standard Oil tank truck without a few treasures. In the summer it'd be produce. We never needed a garden as we were kept stocked in every kind of fruit and vegetable known to Dr. Oz. Sometimes he'd bring home packages of beef, chickens or turkeys and other times jams, jellies, cakes or cookies.

Dad was the Best Dad

He loved to hunt and fish and because part of one of the farms was Bachelor's Island, a duck hunter's heaven in the Columbia River, he was given the privilege of hunting ducks and geese there. Being an excellent shot (Mom said her had the eye of an eagle) our freezer was stocked with wild fish and game. To this day I love the taste of wild goose and Chinook salmon. (The photo is my son Michael, with his son Jackson at the beach. Michael is a fabulous father.)

Maternity Awards? Could there be such a thing?

It's graduation time again, and it got me to thinking about it, which lead me to the idea of celebrating. I looked up the definition of celebration and it said: a joyful occasion for special festivities to mark some happy event.

When we’re young, because we’re growing and changing, there’s cause to celebrate those achievements of going from grade school through high school and college, as well as celebrating the holidays and birthdays.

If we work at a job, there’s usually the annual awards banquet giving out Employee of the Year statues and BO (Born Organized) achievement pins and certificates. I know because as a keynote speaker, I’ve sat through hours of achievement awards presentations. 

But what about us moms? Yeah we might get a Hallmark card once in a while, but there’s no annual awards banquet for Mom or Dad.

Also, a great graduation gift idea below.