Happy Fathers Day

Today we celebrated Fathers Day in Australia.

Today we give thanks for the special man in our children's lives...their Dad. The children  created this huge breakfast as a morning treat. Of course Stephen was supposed to have it in bed but he actually beat the children up and so they created a special place for him at the table.

We really did nothing out of the way today ~went to Church had our Sunday BBQ Lunch and relaxed in the afternoon.
It was no different to a lot of other days for us except I think as a reminder of the fact we have such a wonderful man in our lives that we can enjoy the 'everydayness' of our lives within the family circle even on  special day such as we had today.

I have always enjoyed the poems of Edgar Guest as I believe they have a quality that embraces family life and all the joy and stability that we need in our topsy turvy world. So these are two that I think talk about the qualities not only of a father but the underlying strength of character that makes a good man a great father.

Only A Dad ~Edgar Guest

Only a dad with a tired face,
Coming home from the daily race,
Bringing little of gold or fame
To show how well he has played the game;
But glad in his heart that his own rejoice
To see him come and to hear his voice.

Only a dad with a brood of four,
One of ten million men or more
Plodding along in the daily strife,
Bearing the whips and the scorns of life,
With never a whimper of pain or hate,
For the sake of those who at home await.

Only a dad, neither rich nor proud,
Merely one of the surging crowd,
Toiling, striving from day to day,
Facing whatever may come his way,
Silent whenever the harsh condemn,
And bearing it all for the love of them.

Only a dad but he gives his all,
To smooth the way for his children small,
Doing with courage stern and grim
The deeds that his father did for him.
This is the line that for him I pen:
Only a dad, but the best of men.

From the book "A Heap o' Livin'" ©1916

The True Man ~ Edgar Guest

This is the sort of a man was he:
True when it hurt him a lot to be;
Tight in a corner an' knowin' a lie
'Would have helped him out, but he wouldn't buy
His freedom there in so cheap a way ---
He told the truth though he had to pay.

Honest! Not in the easy sense,
When he needn't worry about expense ---
We'll all play square when it doesn't count
And the sum at stake's not a large amount ---
But he was square when the times were bad,
An' keepin' his word took all he had.

Honor is something we all profess,
But most of us cheat --- some more, some less ---
An' the real test isn't the way we do
When there isn't a pinch in either shoe;
It's whether we're true to our best or not
When the right thing's certain to hurt a lot.

That is the sort of a man was he:
Straight when it hurt him a lot to be;
Times when a lie would have paid him well,
No matter the cost, the truth he'd tell;
An' he'd rather go down to a drab defeat
Than save himself if he had to cheat.

Blessings to you and your homes,