While typically I would write a post on what the best Father’s Day wines are this year while working in a couple of feeble attempts at humor, I can’t seem to wrap my head around that this year. Wine is always a great gift (it is what my dad asks for every birthday, Father’s Day, Sunday…whatever!), and as long as you know the preference of the recipient and get something in their realm of enjoyment then it’s pretty tough to go wrong. My pops is all about California these days, so I guess it’s just a question of which Napa Cab to pick up.

However with a son that just turned two and our second child due literally any day now, Father’s Day is starting to take on some new meaning for me. Not in the hallmark sense, but in what it means to be a father. I feel like love is not a big enough word for the emotion that parents feel for their children. It is this innate and powerful force that encompasses feelings of care, fear, protection, worry, empathy, frustration, futility, generosity, pleasure and dozens of other emotions but of course mostly…unconditional love.

It’s hard to describe the elation you feel when your child learns to do something so simple, like ride a scooter, and to recognize his pride in his own accomplishment. On the other end of the spectrum, the heartbreak we experience when seeing our own child endure any kind of pain, sadness or disappointment can be utterly devastating. And of course none of this compares to the anticipation, excitement and anxiety of welcoming a child into this world and taking on the responsibility of caring for another human being.

So what’s the point? I’m not really sure to be honest. But if I have a point I guess it is this…If I have experienced all of this in the first two years of fatherhood, I can only imagine what the future has in store. It helps me to understand why parents sometimes act the way they do as no matter how old you may be, you are always someone’s “child”. But mostly, it gives me a new perspective and respect for parents everywhere as the roller coaster of emotions they have experienced over the years must be surreal… and something I genuinely look forward to.

So be sure to toast your dad this weekend with a glass of his favorite wine, and mom too! After all the nonsense you have put them through over the years, it’s the least you can do 😉

Cheers!