Everyone gets at least one father, some get two. It kinda depends. There could be a sperm dad and a step dad; a creator and a helper. I’m the Pinocchio to my father and he is my Geppetto. Once a year we celebrate father’s day. For some this is easier than for others. Some don’t know their biological fathers and some don’t even like them. But most people have a older male role model that in some sense acts as a father.

The story goes that father’s day began when a lady called Sonora Dodd of Washington was busy watching a speech on mother’s day 1909. She realised that she wanted a day to honor her father. Her father had lost his wife during the child birth of their sixth child. He was a civil war veteran. Sonora appreciated his selfless behaviour and the difficult task he had of raising six children on his own; she viewed him as a loving, courageous man. Her father, William Smart, was born in June and she arranged the first father’s day on the 19th June 1910.

Some say father’s day is commercialism intruding into our relationships. Some say commercialism and the demarcation of a day for a special loved one is always a good reminder of how special these people are to us. You can buy the finest chocolates, nuts, wines, cheeses and fruits known to man. You can create your own father’s day gift baskets or opt for a pre-filled gift basket. You can buy him a ticket to the opera, some socks; you can buy your father all you wish as a token of your love.

You can also take the day as a way of honouring and demonstrating your love for your father as Sonora Dodd intended and just tell him you love him whoever he is.