Happy Father's Day!

Happy Father's Day to all the dads in Avon!

I hope you're getting a wee bit of pampering today, whether it's your teenaged daughter mowing the lawn for you or your preschool son giving you a bowl of cereal he made all by himself.

While we joke about ties and soap-on-a-rope, Father's Day becomes more precious with each passing year. More and more of my friends are posting on Facebook about how much they miss their dads.

I'm thinking of my cousin Sandi, who is spending her first Father's Day without her dad. Ray was a quiet man who lived for his family and his faith, who doted on his granddaughters Emily and Julie, and loved nothing more than a big Kowiako get-together. He would have had a ball at Emily's graduation party last night.

I'm thinking of Patty, my college roommate, who has had to spend too many Father's Days without her dad but still smiles and remembers how he would wake the family up in the morning by singing Frank Sinatra songs.

But I'm also thinking of Avon Patch parenting columnist , who is getting to celebrate her first Father's Day with her husband after their little miracle Jason arrived last fall. And I'm thinking of my cousin Joyce and her husband, Dave, who are just days away from the birth of their first child, and how wonderful Father's Day will be for them next year.

But, most of all, I think of my dad, Bob Hebert, and how glad I am that, while I don't get to see him today, it's only a few short weeks and about 500 miles between us.

My dad isn't a talker, he's a doer. He's always been that way. He juggled a full-time job, a wife and three kids, being an assistant coach on my brother's Little League team, taking us on family vacations to the shore, fixing up our fixer-upper home in "the country," and going to night school for several years to get his degree.

He has shown his love in a million ways over the years, like spending a weekend cutting a hole in the bathroom floor and building a new cabinet to make a laundry chute so Mom wouldn't have to carry baskets of laundry down the cellar stairs anymore, playing catch with my brother Jeff, driving out on a few days' notice from Connecticut to Ohio to look over a house I wanted to buy, and taking my sister Deb to her chemo when she was in treatment for breast cancer.

Today, he volunteers with Habitat for Humanity, helps out his mom (she'll be 99 this November and still lives independently), and bakes his famous chocolate cake for his grandkids.

I'm looking forward to when he and Mom come out in a few weeks. He'll probably bring his toolbox just in case something needs fixing. We'll go to Luchita's, sit out in the screened-in porch, maybe go to a game. But what matters most is that we'll be together.

Here's what some Avon folks shared about why they love their dads:

From :  I love my father (Bryan Henceroth) because he has taken on more than he had to. My father is actually my stepfather but he is the truest, most amazing father in the world!  He joined our family when my sister and I were in elementary school.  It's not normal to find a man who wants to take on two children with a new wife, but he didn't mind one bit! My father has been there for everything for us! He attended school functions, cheered me on as I marched at halftime and at my graduation. He helped me move into college and then watched me graduate college! He walked me down the aisle at my wedding, he was at the hospitals for the births of our children and helped us with our home improvements and anything else that we would encounter. He has loved us as if we were his own children from the very beginning. He is always there if we need an answer or have  a problem. He loves us unconditionally. He has a heart of gold and seeing him with his grandchildren shows this even more! I love you Dad, more than you'll ever know! Happy Father's Day!

From : One of the funny reasons I love my dad, Ray Grabinski, is because he still calls to ask if I need him to send me some money.... and I'm 48 and married with kids of my own. That cracks me up every time! (And, yes, sometimes I take it LOL)