Happy Father's Day 2015

Father's Day 2015

Sunday, September 6, is Father's Day in Australia, when all dads should be pampered, taken out to lunch or dinner and be the recipients of new socks, ties, golf clubs and perhaps a new lawnmower.

The funniest gift suggestion I had, when I was writing on Father's Day gift ideas for the local newspaper, came from a popular garden centre.

"If Dad is a keen gardener, why not give him a bag of fertiliser for Father's Day?"
I could just imagine his reaction: "Oh, shit!"

While you plan on how you are going to appreciate Dad on his special day, ponder on these quotes:

Sigmund Freud
I cannot think of any need in childhood as strong as the need for a father's protection.

Kurt Avish
Dad, how much I've grown tall does not matter because it's to you I'll always look up.

Tim Russert
The older I get, the smarter my father seems to get.

Gabriel Garcia Marquez
A man knows when he is growing old because he begins to look like his father.

Ben Stiller
When we were visiting New York City, I took my kids to the same playground where I went growing up. It was fun to feel that connection of having gone there as a kid and being there as a parent.

Denzel Washington
Just stick with your kids. There's no set of rules on how to be a parent. No handbook. Just hang around your kids and ask them a lot of questions. You have to stay involved in your children's lives and monitor everything they're doing whether they like it or not. You're not in the job of making them like it. You're there to protect them in a world that can be troubling.

Robert Orben
Life was a lot simpler when what we honoured was father and mother rather than all major credit cards.

Bob Dylan
Come mothers and fathers throughout the land
And don't criticise what you can't understand
Your sons and your daughters are beyond your command
Your old road is rapidly agin'.
Please get out of the new one if you can't lend your hand
For the times they are a-changin'.

To my Dad, Chia Kim Yam:

You were my hero, my inspiration and my guiding light, who showed me strength in gentleness and wisdom.

I miss you today as much as the day you left us.

Happy Father's Day to all dads, here or in heaven.