Happy Father's Day

Mr. J had a quiet Father's Day -- a cookie cake, flowers, cards, and a Home Depot gift card. This afternoon I took the kids to a movie so he could have some time to think about an upcoming work project.

Like many of you, I read Pres. Obama's essay on fatherhood in today's Parade magazine, which comes with the Sunday Inquirer.

Today I would also like to acknowledge the efforts of those who step in to mentor children not their own. Hats off to stepfathers, grandfathers, brothers, uncles, teachers, scoutmasters, team coaches, family friends, neighbors, and all the other men who spend their time and money providing a role model to boys of what they can be and to girls of what they can expect (and should demand) of the men in their lives.

Watching Mr. J interact with our children's friends, especially those who do not have fathers, is always fascinating and often touching. In my youth my grandfather and my brothers had a great influence on me. Both my father and Mr. J's father died before our children were born. Ma's husband was a good guy but they live a ways away. The man who has been my children's grandfather is not related to us at all, other than by bonds of live. They have been enriched by his attention.

Happy Father's Day to men who are fathers by birth, choice, or circumstance. You are more important and have more influence than you could possibly imagine.