This past weekend we were up in Philly for my cousin’s wedding, but had some time on Saturday morning to run a few errands and pick up a bunch of non-important items (toothpaste, dog food, etc.) that we forgot at home. One of those things was the belt that went with my suit. So we stopped off and I bought myself a suspender kit – complete with buttons that I’d sew inside of my pants – that’s right folks, I sew my own buttons. The suspenders were my way of hoping people would be like, “Wow, Adrian really stepped it up with those suspenders!” and not “Look hon, my dumbass cousin forgot his belt in Maryland.”
As I was walking into the store, I passed a guy on his way out who was wearing a shirt that said ‘World’s Okayest Dad’ which I quickly pointed out to my wife because I’m 4-years old and laugh at everything. “That’s pretty good”, I thought to myself, because I certainly have days (especially in the summer) in which I declare that it’s okay for my kids to not make their beds or watch movies for hours on end with no clothes on.
I could totally get away with wearing that shirt sometimes, but the reality is that I do work hard. Sure, I can’t be ‘on’ every minute and if I were in a position (which I’m not) of auditing dads based on their performance, I’d be taking a step back and looking at their commitment as a whole. I wouldn’t get dialed in on those few and far between ‘off’ moments when they’re doing 70 on the freeway and swatting their arm behind the driver’s seat at their kid who is shooting Nerf darts at their head on a road trip or the time you let your kid line up our rotten fruit on the dining room table and punch it until it exploded because you thought it was funny – BUT WE’RE NOT TALKING ABOUT ME, HERE.
The truth is, MOST of us dads out there qualify as LEGENDARY. We do what we need to do when duty calls.
We teach our kids how to tie their shoes or shoot a bow. We tell them which headband matches with their shirt and shoes in between pressure-washing the siding and mowing the lawn. We rock our kids to sleep at night, read them stories and run to comfort them during a thunderstorm. We subdue and relocate the monsters under the bed and remind you to dust yourself off and get back up if you get knocked down. We do what we need to do…
After I picked up my suspenders, we stopped at a flea market set up in a church parking lot to look around. After hauling the kids across the country road and into the sea of tables manned by retired couples and grifter-types, I came upon this mug.
Believe it or not, THIS is the same mug that my dad had in his medicine cabinet for all those years while I was growing up. He used it to hold his razor and shave brush. The logo on the cup felt really familiar to me, as I stood there at 40 years old reminiscing about my dad, a LEGENDARY dad.
A dad who wasn’t afraid to give me a lift when I needed it…
Or set up a barber shop after dinner…
Or make us dinner when mom worked the late shift..
I learned from one of the best.
And he’s helped make me the man I am today.
Who is the legendary dad in your life? How can you help him win this sweet toolbox from Old Spice that includes his own deodorant trophy, Old Spice tee and Tough Mudder registration and great new scents? Simply enter below and I’ll be picking a winner in the next 48 hours!
EDITOR’S NOTE: This is a sponsored post on behalf of Life of Dad and Old Spice, however, the nostalgia and muscle-flexing pictures are all mine (and my legendary dads).
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Sounds cool. I didn’t have a dad growing up, legendary or otherwise. My grandfather, however, used Old Spice. A lot. Especially since it was what we got him every Father’s Day.
Thanks for the giveaway! My dad used Old Spice all the time. When I was a kid I thought it was the only smell men could have as aftershave. Now it’s engraved in my DNA, lol.