Happy Father's Day, everyone. That's right -- everyone. Whether you have had a close or distant relationship with your own father, whether you are, or aren't, a particularly good father yourself, whether you care a lot about acknowledging this day, or really couldn't care less, let this day be at least a momentary acknowledgement of what paternity may, in fact, mean to you.

Here is a day that typifies the "Hallmark" holiday. When was this actually invented? Was the idea really to sell greeting cards? In America Father's Day originated in the early twentieth century, and has been tended to by numerous US Presidents, becoming a permanent national holiday in 1972. We are living in a culture that acknowledges and reminds us of potentially important dates in the calendar for myriad reasons. The key question is whether Father's Day is an important day on The Emotional Calendar for you, on your emotional calendar? Just ask yourself, please -- why or why not?

My Father's Day reflection takes me all the way from my maternal grandfather to my own children (who are old enough to have children of their own, which would make me a grandfather, which, mercifully, neither they nor I are emotionally ready for, as yet). So my own father, whom I called this morning as soon as I woke up, factors in importantly -- although in a broader context. When I reflect upon Father's Day, I am reflecting on understanding, longing, and on what it really means to "man up." In this life, where we sometimes have to wander so far to find answers that are most often right there in our heart, I am often looking for inspiration. What does a father do? How does a father decide? What does it mean to be a great Dad? Can one be a pretty great Dad, or even a good enough Dad, and still be a real human being, flawed as we all are and far from perfect?