Elizabeth Davies explains why she appreciates the lifelong commitment of being a dad

By Elizabeth Davies

This Sunday saw New Zealanders celebrating Father’s Day and thanking their dads for being, well, dads.

A number of people will label Father’s Day a commercial invention, a celebration with the sole purpose of encouraging naïve consumers to purchase mass produced greeting cards and novelty items. It’s as if some people take personal offence. How dare society suggest we need to be reminded to appreciate the father figure in our lives? Sadly, these days we kind of do.

I’m sure there’s a lot of truth in the pointless spending concept. I dread to think how many dads woke up to extend-o-ladders and the home renovator. They probably peered fearfully into the box, terrified to admit they could barely hammer a nail let alone build their kids that now eagerly anticipated tree house. 

Other’s probably plastered on that old faithful smile when unwrapping their socks and monogrammed handkerchiefs – because truly you can never have enough and who needs beer or a subscription to Sky sport really?

The really lucky dads probably sat back in bed and munched their way through cold scrambled eggs on burnt toast, chewing carefully through hunks of shell. Their smiles will be genuine, because the kids were so determined to make it themselves, and their eager expectation of approval and pride is even better than perfect bacon.

I won’t tell you my dad is ‘the greatest dad in the world’ because I’m not a novelty coffee mug, and I’m not seven. I will however say that I appreciate him more as I get older. The man has five daughters – that fact alone should be rewarded with sighs of admiration and/or pitying head shakes.

Father’s Day is one of those occasions you don’t really get until you’re older and have moved out of home. When you’re little you think ‘ok dad’s cool and we get to do fun stuff today and maybe I won’t wake him up at 6am, I’ll be generous and let him sleep till 6:30 even though it’s really hard.’

When you’re a teenager you think, ‘oh god now I have to sacrifice my hung over Sunday morning to go and pretend I enjoy the company of this horrible man I live with.’ Then you get a bit older and you realise, 'well I’ll be damned, maybe he’s all right after all.'

We stole expensive wine from his cupboards and swigged it straight from the bottle at parties, we snuck in and out of windows at 3am, borrowed his car without permission, and loaded the dishwasher all wrong.

He wasn’t always happy with us, but he was always there. He’ll still help us choose appropriate outfits for job interviews, tell us we’re too good for the boys we cry over, make bad jokes and play devil’s advocate every time – just to wind us up.

He’s not perfect, but he’s there and he’s trying. And in my opinion that’s what Father’s Day is about appreciating, the lifelong commitment to being a dad, even when it’s really hard. It’s not necessarily about the fun times, it’s acknowledging the man who can walk confidently into a supermarket and buy tampons for his three teenage daughters. Because let’s face it, that dad is doing something right.

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Elizabeth Davies is a 24 year-old graduate of the Auckland University of Technology post graduate journalism course. She lives with her partner in Epsom and spends her free time refurbishing vintage furniture and attempting to bake while fighting a daily battle against her bank balance. She writes a weekly article for interest.co.nz on money matters and financial struggles from a young person's perspective.