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If you were lucky enough to have an involved, loving dad in your life, you probably have a big bank of positive memories to draw upon whenever you need some warm fuzzies. There are certain activities that dads tend to do during childhood that just can’t be replicated as you age. Even though you’re an adult now, there are likely moments when you wish you could return to the innocence of childhood, when your dad was omnipotent, beneficent, and rooting for you at every milestone. This Father’s Day, reflect back on the happy times with your dad, and if he’s still around, call him up to reminisce. Talking about the good ol’ days is one of the fatherly activities dads do best.
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Fatherly Activities
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Playing catch.
Tossing a ball back and forth was probably one of the first father-son activities you ever did. Now you live alone and catch is more like ‘throw-and-pick-it-up.’
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Fishing.
As a kid, there was nothing more exciting than that tug at the end of your fishing line and watching your bobber dip underwater. Pulling in a sunfish (or several) was the highlight of your summer. Now, fishing is just an excuse to drink beer and shoot the shit with your buddies. Without your dad around, there’s no one to fake enthusiasm at your catch.
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Going to the barbershop.
OK, so your haircut never turned out quite like you wanted it when the old timers went at your head with the clippers, but the barbershop was a man cave where you were part of the club no matter how young you were. It might have even been the first place you saw porn. Thanks, Dad!
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Getting a spanking.
Let’s face it: you’re bad to the bone. You probably deserve a spanking right now. But nobody could hand out an ass whooping like your dad. While you didn’t appreciate the discipline back then, you sometimes find yourself wishing that someone would tell you how full of B.S. you are and give you a hard whack.
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Playing old-school video games.
You may not have been an all-time high-scoring gamer when you were a kid, but if you were playing against your dad, you felt pretty good about your abilities. Now you can’t even figure out how to turn the damn console on, much less beat another player. Find a vintage NES and invite dad over already, just to prove you’re still relevant.
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Losing at chess.
Here’s one game you were never going to win, at least not as a child. You know now that you were never smarter than your dad, but wasn’t it nice of him to let you feel victorious once in a while? Now you can't find anyone to play with, much less lose to.
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Flying a kite.
Kite-flying is such a simple pleasure, and it’s one you don’t indulge in much these days. But when your dad first took you out to that empty field and the wind picked up, it was like magic. Cue “I believe I can fly…”
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Visiting animal friends at the zoo.
Adults don’t really belong at the zoo, unless you’re attached to children. Back in the day, when your dad took you to the zoo, those animals seemed so big and wild, didn’t they? Now they just look sad, you relate to the caged feeling far too well, and your dad’s not around to buy you treats. Adulthood sucks.
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Getting an underdog.
For the uninitiated, an “underdog” is when someone pushes you on the swing from behind, then runs under the swing and watches you get deliriously happy (and afraid) as the swing shoots skyward to a height you never could have achieved with your own two pumping legs. Dads were experts at this move, and you wish you were small enough to actually experience that level of exhilaration again.
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Scary stories around the campfire.
Dads do scary stories like nobody else, probably because they’re familiar with all your fears and tailor the stories specifically to scare the bejesus out of you.
