The sentimental differences between Mother’s Day and Father’s Day are as stark as life and death. There. I said it.

It troubles me that the standard in America seems to be that we worship our mothers while at the same time, we criticize our fathers. And if we’re not criticizing them outright, we emasculate them softly by reminding them of their roles of responsibility and leadership. Grown men need to be reminded of what God called them to do? When was the last time we reminded a mother to breastfeed her child? When was the last time we called for mothers to be more responsible to the family?

I know. I know. In our society, far too many men have run from their roles as dads. Those are the bad apples but when did a few bad apples define what an apple tastes like? I know many men who are good parents. Period.

My father was absent most of my childhood and when he was around, his presence did more harm than good. I’ve determined to be the opposite – the dad that I always wanted. To me, there is both a semantic and emotional difference between the titles of father and dad. A father seeds a child and bears the responsibility of taking care of her. A dad does that and additionally has a relationship with his child. The title, dad, evokes images of a child sitting in his or her dad’s lap.

I encourage those men who are naturally drawn to parent their children. I encourage those good dads who’s ill fate is to share the same sentence with deadbeat dads. I encourage those good dads beyond Father’s Day. I encourage those men who are parents, simply stated. Just like our mothers, we need you and are thankful for you.