There comes a time in every man’s life where holidays quit revolving around receiving presents and become more about spending time with loved ones. I’m sure for me this change began when I began dating Susan; suddenly, Christmas became less about “what am I going to get” and more about “what great thing can I get for her?” If meeting Susan started me down that path, having kids finished it. That’s not to say I don’t enjoy or appreciate getting gifts, but the real gift is seeing my family happy and together, two things that not everybody has these days.

This year for Father’s Day I got to spend not one but two meals with my dad and my family. The first one was at Fire Mountain, where Mason, Morgan and Susan joined me and my dad for breakfast. These days while eating you you never know what mood which kid’s going to be in — today we ended up with “picky eater” Mason and his sister “I don’t want to sit down” Morgan — but we still had a good time. It must’ve shown, as I was awarded by our waitress with a blue ribbon for being “The #1 Dad,” but my win was short-lived when I realized every father in the restaurant had received a ribbon. I demand a recount!

For dinner Dad returned, this time with Linda and Griffin. We had intended to cook steaks out on the grill, but over the winter a bird took over our grill and even with the majority of the nest removed a bunch of bird poo remained behind. Instead we broiled the steaks, and they were delicious! Afterwards we had a good time out in the front yard, chasing the kids and playing around before everyone parted.

Earlier this week both Mason’s and Morgan’s classrooms held separate Father’s Day parties. At Mason’s the theme was Hawaiian, and the kids performed a hula dance in grass skirts and hand-painted shirts before giving us handmade cards (Mason’s had a picture of the Nintendo Wii inside it) and celebrating with the traditional Hawaiian meal of soft tacos. In Morgan’s class the celebration was shorter, but she also gave me a card she worked on and we shared a bowl of nachos together before I had to go back to work.

For my downstairs computer room, Susan and the kids bought me a leather office chair. I don’t mean to belittle the chair — It’s a really nice chair, I really needed a chair, and I’m sitting in the chair typing this very moment. But long after I’ve forgotten the details about who bought me the chair and for what occasion, I’ll still remember the handmade cards, cooking steaks, and the time we all got to spend together on Father’s Day.