We light our chalice for fathers and for fatherhood

For sleepless nights awaiting the curfew-breakers
For anxious hours as a driving instructor
For hours spent on sidelines, cheering
And watching school plays, sometimes “resting our eyes,”
For the pressures of bread-winning
And “wait ‘til your father gets home.”
For teaching moments and mentoring moments,
For making up answers when you just don’t know,
But are expected to because you know everything
For scrapes and boo-boo kisses and bandaids,
For hugs and kisses and silliness and play
For bedtime stories and early morning ice time
For all the after-shave and ties received as gifts
For handing over car keys and waves good-bye
For father-daughter wedding dances
And cradling grandchildren for the first time
For all the moments and all the meaning in the role of a lifetime,
We light our chalice for fathers and for fatherhood.

Father and daughter at a dancing lesson
Sleeping baby and napping dad hold hands