Dads can celebrate and appreciate each others’ parenting work on the night of June 15, 2024 — Fathers Eve.

The annual event, now in its 13th year, is meant to allow dads to have a chance to show gratitude and support for one another. This differs from Father’s Day as that holiday is for families to honor dads.

Since 2012, groups of fathers have gathered formally or informally in public or private spaces to swap parenting stories, offer support to each other and help foster a positive fathering environment. John Francis, a co-organizer of our Twin Cities Dads Group in Minnesota, began the tradition by inviting several dad friends to his house for beers, billiards and swapping stories about fatherhood. Fathers Eve is now recognized as an official “national day” by the National Day Archives.

Over the years, scores of celebrations have been held annually in backyards and businesses across the United States and a few international locations. The organization has also helped raise thousands of dollars for parenting and children’s organizations.

Where to celebrate Fathers Eve 2024

Several City Dads chapters will be among those hosting Fathers Eve 2024 events (click city to find event listing and RSVP) :

• Charlotte, N.C.
• Chicago
• Cincinnati
• Columbus, Ohio
• Denver
• Fresno, Calif.
• Los Angeles
• Minneapolis/St. Paul, Minn. – Twin Cities
• New York City – Port Washington
• Phoenix

(DISCLOSURE: City Dads Group has been a longtime sponsor for Fathers Eve, donating money and helping organize events through our chapters. Fathering Together is also a sponsor.)

A complete listing of Fathers Eve 2024 events can be found on its website.

Virtual celebration available online

If you can’t attend a Fathers Eve 2024 event in person, don’t despair. A virtual online live-streaming of celebrations will again be held this year. A live stream replaced in-person events in 2020 because of the COVID-19 pandemic, and has supplemented organized celebrations since.

The online event starts at 7 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time on June 15. The countdowns to the annual celebratory toast start shortly before the start of 8 p.m. local time in each U.S. time zone. You can sign up for the live stream to share at your event or watch individually.

Editor’s Note: We’re digging into our ample archives to find some great articles you might have missed over the years. This Father’s Day recollection comes from 2015.

Until my own first child was born, fatherhood was just what my dad did, and all I had ever done was take it for granted.

My earliest memories are of sitting on his shrinking lap, a slice of jean-covered thigh quickly losing ground between the random growth spurts of a lanky boy and the constant expansion of an ex-smoker’s belly. I sat there for years sharing tickles, snacks and forgotten conversations. There was a montage of facial hair, and I was captivated by its splendor or the sudden lack of it. Everything was long legs and gangly tussles. I nestled happily in the swell of my father’s contentment.

The years stretched and the stories we planted sprouted stories of their own. The days passed, blooming with milestones, lessons, and the fragrant sweetness of life in hindsight. Fond memories wafted down a timeline, always spinning toward what will be and always remembering what has been. The scent was fantastic and the world somewhat dizzy.

We spent days together that grew into weeks, rolled into months, and segued into years as smoothly as you like. I was hanging one arm out the window of a blue and bruised Datsun pickup, home in the welcome give of a worn bench seat, my father popping pistachios in time to an AM radio already out of date. I was bronze and blond, buck-toothed and skinny, and I was glorious against the sinking horizon that we spend our whole lives chasing. My father was a smile in sunglasses, a song on his breath, and he was younger than I ever knew.

The journey also took us through fields of frustration tended with firm hands and cultivated by consequence. There were sidetracks and shortcuts, disappointment, and discipline, but all days ended in sunsets and every morning the sun would rise. There were birds in the distance and a whistle brought them nearer.

At some point, our kisses fell from lips to cheeks to hugs masked as handshakes. The emotions on our sleeves grew heavy and hard to carry. Life has a way of twisting and testing, and it wrings out the innocence with the sweat and the tears, leaving two grown men in the shade of all that we built, awkward with gratitude and loving one another.

I remember the day I called my dad to tell him the news. He was at work in Arizona, and I was states away, sitting in a parking lot with my wife and our giddiness.

“You are going to be a grandfather,” I said into the phone. His joy was instant and electric.

I spent the next nine months trying to examine the examples he had given, preparing to cross to the other side, the fatherhood side of my experience. My wife and I went on long walks through wet, winding woods, and we talked about the things that we would do when the baby came. We were all things but patient, and we walked around again.

“It’s a boy,” I said through more tears than rain. My father had been sleeping with the phone by his side and had answered before the first ring ended. “You have a grandson.”

And then I rambled about the all of it — full of I-had-no-ideas and now-I-sees. I got it, suddenly, like a swift kick to the head I never knew I needed. The road opened wide before me, and the future teased us all with a glimmer, orange and bright, warm with promise and paths untaken. Then I returned to my wife and our new baby boy, him bundled tight and her softly sleeping. The room was already spinning with fatherhood and motion.

Then three years later we did it all again, but this time with dimples.

Now I spend all my days on the dad side of the fence, where the grass is always greener and in desperate need of trimming. It is my lap slowly shrinking and my shadows being cast. We are the stories being written and we are living in our memories.

I don’t see my own father often enough, but I see my boys every day. Their eyes are like time machines, always racing toward tomorrow, taking lessons from the past, and making the most of the now well before it passes. And it turns out, my father is here, in all of that. The next time we meet I will tell him so, and perhaps a small kiss upon the cheek will show him.

Fatherhood isn’t just something my dad did. It is something he taught me, and it is a thing we do together regardless of the miles between us.

And so it goes. The shadows we cast grow longer as the days grow shorter. We wax and we wane. We give love and we take love. That is the way of fatherhood, and I wouldn’t have it any other.

I learned that from my father.

This post first appeared on Honea Express. An earlier version appeared on Safely.com. Main photo: © ivanko80 / Adobe Stock. Other photos: Contributed.

Fathers Eve, the annual event for dads to celebrate each other with each other, is back in 2022. However, its founder wants to add a new twist: community engagement and family participation.

Event founder John Francis said he wants those planning the pre-Father’s Day celebrations to add a local service project to their parties. These should be something that family members, friends and neighbors can participate in.

“It can be as simple a taking a garbage bag in hand and picking up trash,” Francis said in an interview. “While your out doing it, talk to people about doing good. It doesn’t have to be an expansive or complicated project to accomplish the goal.”

For example, members, families and friends of Minnesota’s Twin Cities Dads Group, which he is a part of, are helping rehabilitating a playground the afternoon of June 18. Later, they will head to a nearby brewery for the traditional toast for fatherhood on the night before Father’s Day.

“Most dads want to do the right thing when given the opportunity to,” he said. “We hope to encourage this and share this with our wives, children, friends and community. This way we expand into something bigger and better.”

One group the organization hopes to attract is father figures, even if they are not dads themselves. After reading stories about the problems of children who grew up fatherless, Francis began thinking about getting other men involved with Fathers Eve through community projects. He hopes their actions could help create a “showcase” of inspiring male role models for others, especially children.

Charity component dropped

Fathers Eve started in 2012. Francis invited several dad friends to his house for beers, billiards and swapping stories about fatherhood. The hope: support for each other in effort to become better parents. Over the years, scores of celebrations have been held annually in backyards and businesses across the United States and a few internationally locations.

“Gathering the night before Father’s Day gives dads a chance to spend time with each other to focus on sharing ideas, supporting what it means to be better dads, making stronger connections, all while doing something good for the community,” the father of two told City Dads back in 2017.

Fathers Eve previous encouraged event organizers to include a charity component that assists a parenting or children’s cause. However, fundraising for others proved to be difficult.

“We don’t want to be just another charity organization. We want to be role models for family and community,” Francis said in explaining the shift.

Where to celebrate Fathers Eve 2022

Several City Dads chapters will be among those hosting Fathers Eve 2022 events (click city to find event listing and RSVP) :

• Charlotte, N.C.
• Chicago
• Cincinnati
• Denver
• Kansas City, Mo.
• Minneapolis/St. Paul, Minn. – Twin Cities
• New York City – Harlem and Port Washington
• Orlando

(DISCLOSURE: City Dads Group is a national sponsor for Fathers Eve 2022.)

A complete listing of Fathers Eve 2022 events can be found on its website.

If you can’t attend an event, don’t despair. An online live streaming of celebrations will take place on Zoom and Facebook Live.

A live stream replaced in-person events in 2020 because of the COVID-19 pandemic, and supplemented last year’s celebrations. In 2022, it will be simplified to mostly a brief welcome and countdown, Francis said.

The countdowns to the annual celebratory toast will start shortly before the start of 8 p.m. in each U.S. time zone, starting with Eastern time, on June 18. You can sign up for the live stream to share at your event or watch individually.

No need to go on a last-minute shopping spree for Father’s Day, dear.

You can skip the “#1 Dad” coffee mug this year. 

Scrap buying me a new, shiny white pair of dad-sneakers – mine have plenty of tread left.    

No ties, no tools, no superhero T-shirts.

No golf shirts, no golf tees, no golf shorts or golf shoes. 

Nope, honey, I want NOTHING for Father’s Day. 

And I mean it.

This is not the same nothing you wanted for your recent birthday. It is a different version of the nothing you coveted for Mother’s Day a month ago. No, I’m savvy enough to sniff out your passive-aggressive attempt at testing my creativity and ability to listen to the small hints you’ve dropped throughout the year.   

I’m serious. I truly want NOTHING for Father’s Day. In fact, on June 20, I want the following, specific “NOTHINGS”:

• NOTHING waking me up before 8 a.m. No alarm clock, no children, no antsy dogs breathing just heavy enough to annoy me into awakening for the day. Nada.
• NOTHING that requires me to satisfy any basic human need of another. No feeding, clothing, washing, drying, putting to bed, reading to, or listening to any (and all) little humans that are not otherwise able.
• On Father’s Day I’ll be deciding NOTHING. I relinquish any authority to be consulted on, and, in any way a part of, both, pressing (“What are we supposed to eat?”) and meaningless (“Is underwear OK for two days?”) household verdicts. Yes, on this day, I want full immunity to use “go ask your mother” without limits or exception. 
• I want to hear NOTHING while enjoying a few moments of bathroom solace. The little shadows that normally appear on the floor just outside the door, today, they must go elsewhere. The knocking that follows the 10 seconds of that shadow patiently waiting will also be prohibited. I will enjoy a silent reign upon our porcelain throne.
• I want NOTHING to do with any activity requiring preparation – not with food, kids, logistics, work, or play dates. I will not be grilling, chauffeuring, dropping off, picking up, or looking at a schedule for anything on Father’s Day. 
• You and the kids should expect NOTHING from me – probably all day.

I must admit celebrating Father’s Day by requesting a day that resembles nothing about parenthood seems odd. Don’t misunderstand . I love being a father and husband. In fact, I’m hopeful that my daily efforts to do the opposite of nothing helps me justify the day of nothing I’m yearning for.

In exchange for NOTHING, I promise to wake up on Monday, June 21, back in my normal, solid, eager-to-be-a-great-dad shape. You, me, and the kids can return to our routine: unnecessarily waking up far too early for the summer, saying “Watch this, Dad” one thousand times more than “thank you,” tag-teaming the dinner time onslaught of “hangry” kid-beasts, and, that evening, we’ll do our best to get the children bathed and chilled out before bedtime. If we’re really on our parenting game, the kids will even be wearing a clean pair of undies. 

Yes, for Father’s Day, I want NOTHING – except the hope that the momentary downtime will help me muster the energy needed to make sure I am nothing short of everything for you and the kids the other 364 days.         

Sweet nothing for dad Photo: ©Africa Studio / Adobe Stock.

First came Father’s Day. Then Fathers Eve. Now comes “Father’s Friday,” an educational event aiming to spark a movement that raises dear old dad’s status in the parenting and working worlds.

Backed by two fatherhood nonprofits and a thriving Facebook community, Father’s Friday is a six-hour, pre-recorded streaming event on June 18. It will feature panels and diverse dad speakers discussing strategies for fathers. Planned topics include creating individual plans for fatherhood and family life, pushing for increased gender parity and more family-friendly working conditions for parents, such as paid family leave, and translating work skills to home life skills.

The online event is scheduled from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., Eastern Daylight Time, June 18. It can be viewed on YouTube and Facebook. The organizers are:

• Fathering Together, a nonprofit that builds virtual communities of support for dads.
• The Black Fathers Foundation, a nonprofit that offers resources to help Black men effectively raise children and strengthen families.
• Soy Super Papa, a Facebook community with a mission of empowering fathers, especially Spanish speakers, that focuses on highlighting their roles in society and within the family.

(DISCLOSURE: City Dads Group is supporting collaborator for Father’s Friday.)

The organizers want to play against the stereotypical gift to dads on Father’s Day, using the social media rallying cry of #MoreThanANecktie. They want fathers to use social media to post stories about how they are “present and engaged” with their children and “not only a breadwinner, but active in the care and management of your home.” They also ask dads to submit short videos of such statements.

The aim is to drive a narrative that fatherhood comes in many colors, shapes and styles beyond the tropes we’ve seen in media, marketing and entertainment, according to material provided by the organizers. The goal is to “elevate stories of positive and engaged fathers” and to “provide strategies and support for fathers who aren’t sure how to be [more than a marginalized stereotype] for their families, according to the organizers.

Throughout the day, members of the organizing communities will offer reflections on fatherhood.

Featured speakers will include:

• Ted Bunch, chief development officer of A Call to Men, a movement to promote healthy, respectful manhood. Bunch has been internationally recognized for his efforts to prevent violence against women. 
• Josh Levs, a former journalist turned workplace equality advocate focused on fathers. He wrote the book, All In: How Our Work-First Culture Fails Dads, Families, and Businesses Alike – And How We Can Fix It Together.
• Ben Killoy, a U.S. Marine veteran, speaker, coach and podcaster. He recently wrote a Memorial Day column for City Dads Group.

Dad necktie photo by Tim Mossholder on Unsplash

Fathers Eve is back in 2021 for NYC Dads Group members! A flag football game and dads night out will be held the day before Father’s Day in Manhattan for our guys to celebrate the joys of being dads together.

UPDATED 6/8/21, 4 p.m.: A second event that night has been added in Port Washington for our members living in our closer to Long Island. More details below.

The 2021 Fathers Eve NYC party starts at 4 p.m., Saturday, June 19, with the game at the Morningside Park softball fields in Manhattan. Two hours later, the fun moves to The Harlem Tavern for food, drink and an 8 p.m. raising of the glass to toast fathers around the world.

Participation in the flag football game is not necessary for attending the tavern event, but scorekeepers and refs will be needed. A few fans cheering on the sidelines is good, too. Our members are encouraged to bring their other dad friends but an RSVP is needed.

+ RSVP for Fathers Eve 2021 Manhattan event +

The Port Washington, N.Y., has also been held in year’s past as a local restaurant. This year’s event will be outdoors and be focused around the live stream, according to its organizer.

+ RSVP for Fathers Eve 2021 Port Washington event +

Fathers Eve is the brainchild of John Francis, a co-organizer of our Twin Cities Dads Group in the Minneapolis/St. Paul area of Minnesota. He first gathered several of his dad friends in a residential garage in night before Father’s Day 2012 to break bread, drink beers, and swap stories about fatherhood while offering each other support in their efforts to become better parents.

(DISCLOSURE: City Dads Group is a national sponsor for Fathers Eve 2021 as it has been for the past several years.)

After a banner year in 2019, the COVID-19 pandemic start in March 2020 forced Francis to quickly pivot from in-person events to a livestream program. A roughly 40-minute live video feed of programming, hosted from his garage where the first event was held nine years ago, was broadcast for each of the four mainland U.S. time zones. Each culminated in a local 8 p.m. toast to the joys of being a dad.

With the virus threat subsiding throughout most of the United States, Francis said he is expecting about 30 locations to host in-person events, though he is hoping the get the number as high as 100.

Buoyed by the success of last year’s livestream, Francis said he is keeping it to anchor the in-person events and also bring in others unable or hesitant to attend a gathering this year.

For the Fathers Eve 2021 livestream, to be broadcast via Facebook Live, Francis said he aims to add some more humorous components, such as clips from comedians, and some new speakers as well as highlighting sponsors and fatherhood causes. Sponsors this year include Sports Clips haircuts (national) and IHeartRadio and ACE Hardware (both local).

With COVID-19 restrictions loosening and infection rates dropping, Fathers Eve 2021 — the pre-Father’s Day celebration of fatherhood — will once again feature in-person gatherings but also keep the livestream countdown it debuted last year in wake of the pandemic.

Fathers Eve, brainchild of Twin Cities Dads member John Francis, started in 2012. He invited several of his dad friends to his house to drink beers, shoot some pool and swap stories about fatherhood while offering each other support in their effort to become better parents. A charity component is often included in the festivities that assists a parenting or children’s cause. Children’s Miracle Network hospitals is a national recipient this year, but local charities sometimes benefit from those events. Over the years, scores of celebrations have been held annually in backyards, bars and restaurants across the United States. A few even took place internationally in places as far away as Costa Rica and London.

(DISCLOSURE: City Dads Group is a national sponsor for Fathers Eve 2021 as it has been for the past several years.)

After a banner year in 2019, the COVID-19 pandemic start in March 2020 forced Francis to quickly pivot from in-person events to a livestream program. A roughly 40-minute live video feed of programming, hosted from his garage where the first event was held nine years ago, was broadcast for each of the four mainland U.S. time zones. Each culminated in a local 8 p.m. toast to the joys of being a dad.

+ Find a local Fathers Eve 2021 event +

“I’m NOT a tech guy, but we figured it out, got some help and it was fun,” Francis said in an email interview with City Dads Group. “We missed the larger group and seeing others online (but) we DID have 7,000+ views, so that’s a win!”

With the virus threat subsiding throughout most of the United States, Francis said he is expecting about 30 locations to host in-person events, though he is hoping the get the number as high as 100. Local City Dads chapters have been big supporters of Fathers Eve events in the past, and several have already committed to participating.

Buoyed by the success of last year’s livestream, Francis said he is keeping it to anchor the in-person events and also bring in others unable or hesitant to attend a gathering this year.

For the Fathers Eve 2021 livestream, to be broadcast via Facebook Live, Francis said he aims to add some more humorous components, such as clips from comedians, and some new speakers as well as highlighting sponsors and fatherhood causes. Sponsors this year include Sports Clips haircuts (national) and IHeartRadio and ACE Hardware (both local).

Father’s Day dad jokes are an art form. They need to be dad-focused and groan worthy but not in a manner that makes dad the butt of the joke.

That’s why our latest attempt at scouring the internet for the best and worst Father’s Day dad jokes, riddles and puns — all clean jokes for the kids and families to enjoy, mind you — took some extra effort. We had to go almost THREE pages deep. Almost.

(Want something R-rated? Watch this hilarious, not-PC “Dadholes” video for the holiday.)

So if you’d enjoyed our other holiday-themed dad jokes (we’ve done Christmas, Halloween, Thanksgiving, Valentine’s Day and St. Patrick’s Day), there’s something seriously wrong with you. Otherwise, enjoy … and be good to your pop on Father’s Day.

And please, don’t get him a tie. No joke.

Best/worst Father’s Day dad jokes for kids

Q: When does a dad joke become a dad joke?
A: When the punch line becomes apparent.

Q: What’s a father’s favorite prehistoric animal?
A: The dad-asaurus

Q: What did the father buffalo say to his son before it left for school?
A: “Bison.”

Q: What did the mother bullet say to the father bullet?
A: “We’re gonna have a BB!”

+  +  +

Four dads-to-be are in the hospital waiting room. A nurse enters, and says to the first, “Congratulations! You’re the father of twins.”

“How odd,” the man replies. “I work for the Minnesota Twins!”

Another nurse walks in and says to the second man, “Congratulations! You’re the father of triplets!”

“How weird,” answers the second man. “I work for the 3M Company!”

Another nurse walks in and tells the third man, “Congratulations! You’re the father of quadruplets!”

“How strange,” he answers. “I work for the Four Seasons hotel!”

The last man starts groaning and banging his head against the wall.

“What’s wrong?” the others ask.

“I work for Century 21!”

+  +  +

Q: How is a baby bird like its dad?
A: It’s a chirp off the old block.

Q: Did you hear about the dad who invented the knock-knock joke?
A: He won the no-bell prize!

Q: Why doesn’t Egypt celebrate Father’s Day?
A: Because it’s too full with mummies.

Q:: What did the baby corn say to the mama corn?
A: “Where’s Popcorn?”

Q: What’s the difference between a poorly dressed dad on a tricycle and a well-dressed dad on a bicycle?
A: Attire.

Q: Why do dads who golf always bring an extra pair of pants?
A: In case they get a hole in one!

+  +  +

A woman stops a father pushing a stroller through park and says, “What a cute baby! What’s her name?”

The dad replies, “Beth.”

“Oh,” says the woman, “what’s it short for?”

“Because it’s a baby.”

+  +  +

Q: What do you call a dad who falls through the ice?
A: A popsicle!

Teacher: How old is your father?
Student: As old as me.
Teacher: How it is possible?
Student: He only became a father when I was born.

Q: What did the three-legged dog say when he walked into the sheriff’s office?
A: “I’m looking for the man who shot my paw.”

Q: What do you call a group of father rabbits walking backwards?
A: A receding hare-line.

Q: How did Darth Vader know what he was getting for Father’s Day?
A: He felt Luke’s presents.

Q: Why do dads feel the need to tell such bad jokes?
A: They just want to help you become a groan-up.

Best Father’s day dad jokes photo: ©Anatoliy Karlyuk/Adobe Stock.

“Father’s Day Taken,” the latest pro-fatherhood fundraising initiative by our longtime partner Dove Men+Care, remembers the thousands of black dads who have lost their lives due to racism and violence, and the families left behind. DM+C established the the Fathers Day Taken Fund to invest $1 million to support these families in need.

The movement began with the public airings of a video showing Minneapolis police on May 25 kneeling on the neck of George Floyd until he stopped breathing. Floyd was in the process of being arrested on a charge of passing a counterfeit $20 bill.

The Father’s Day Taken effort is raising money through a GoFundMe page at FathersDayTaken.com. It is asking people to join by donating at least $5 – the cost of a Father’s Day card. All donations will benefit the fund.

Additionally, to honor the memory of the black fathers taken, DM+C is asking people to send a Father’s Day card to a dad in your life through the website.

Dove Men+Care is asking people who want to support the effort by sharing its message to use hashtags #FathersDayTaken and #TooManyToName.

About our partnership with Dove Men+Care

Dove Men+Care has long been committed to shattering stereotypes about being a man and a father. Some past campaigns City Dads has worked with the grooming products company on include advocating nationally, including on Capital Hill, for universal paternity leave and recognizing father figures. City Dads Group and its many chapters have also partnered with Dove Men+Care for many fun events and promotions such as March Madness parties and tickets and promoting father-child bonding through free haircuts during the holiday season.

Running is my time to think about everything and, eventually, nothing. Finding Zen in those moments makes my early mornings stuffing lunch sacks through my late nights up with a sick kid, all worth while. It’s not that I run out of things to think about — it’s getting to that place where I am thinking solely about the NOW. How do my knees feel?

Is that left calf loosing up or is it still tight and messing with my stride?

Look, that lime green light seems to bounce off the pool of water next to the trail!

I tend to be a reflective person by nature, finding Zen whenever and wherever I can. Looking back and learning from my mistakes is common practice for someone who makes a lot of mistakes. It makes me feel better about going forward and not making the same mistakes twice. Well, definitely not three times.

This particular time in my life, I have a lot to think about. My birthday being close to Father’s Day offers a unique challenge for retrospection. Before children, my birthday was a time to think back on the year and what changes I wanted to make moving forward. Father’s Day was a time to think about my dad and celebrate all of his accomplishments.

That all changed years ago when I first became a father. Now, when mid-June rolls around, not only do I get to think back on what kind of a person I am, but I also get to ponder about what kind of a dad I am.

Oh, joy.

The heat had finally broken here on the East Coast and I was about three miles into a five mile loop. I was deep in thought, not quite to finding Zen yet, but close. I was still thinking through the tough morning we had trying to get everyone up and moving.

It is difficult to move quickly when you are 5 years old. The concept of being late is still foreign to the young pre-K student we have living with us. She is a “stop and smell the roses” kind of girl. I love her to pieces. But she needs to learn about at least making it appear that she is trying to move quickly or her poor old dad will lose his poor old mind. Seriously. Mix this morning with the fact that I just turned the big 4-0 (thank you) and you have the makings of a deep, introspective run.

Back to Mile Three …

I was looking forward to this afternoon when I could sit down with my daughter and talk about why I was so angry and why I yelled at her this morning. It was really eating me up. My first day as a 40 year old and I have already yelled at my sweet little one because I slept in and ignored the alarm. It was unfair to her, and I knew it.

That’s when I saw the dog, off-leash, running toward me. This is nothing new. People break the leashed dog rule all the time. I generally stop running, wait for the owner to apologize, give them a few choice words, and head on my way. But this time was different. The dog owner was very concerned about me not moving until he caught up to us.

“I don’t trust this dog,” he yelled.

Well, that’s good! Let him run free then, why don’t you?

He finally made it in between me and this snarling mutt that didn’t seem too happy with the fact that I was enjoying a nice run toward his owner. I assumed the dog had no ideas on how to talk to my daughter about the stresses of being late in the morning or how learning to wake up early and be prepared for life is a good quality.

“I’m so sorry, didn’t think we would see any …”

That was the moment when I felt the strength of the dogs jaw clamp down on my big cushy ass.

“OW! Hey, what the f@*! man!” I screamed in pain.

“Are you OK? I’m so sorry! Are you bleeding?” he said.

I pulled down my running shorts to reveal a nice row of small bruises forming. No blood.

“What if I had my kids? What if they got bit in the face? Keep your dog on the leash!”

We stared at each for a few moments, his dog still growling. My instincts told me it was time to go. I turned, giving one last farewell involving a few more choice words, and continued through the empty woods.

I was still in shock with what just happened when I stopped to look at the bite again.  It wasn’t that bad but still, a bite is a bite. It hurt like hell. I had to finish my route not only because I wanted to keep running, but I needed to get back to the car.

Then it happened.

My mind was clear. I was in that Zen place.

I was thinking about the bruise forming on my posterior and the heart rate that was finally coming back to normal. More importantly, I was immediately thankful.  Thankful I didn’t have to go to the hospital. Thankful my kids were not mauled by a dog in the woods. Thankful I was a dad. Thankful I was able to keep running and now it’s just a story to be exaggerated at a later time by yours truly. Thankful to be alive.

The dog brought me into the NOW.

Happy Father’s Day to all the other dads living in the now.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Bryan Grossbauer is an actor, musician, former teacher and full-time stay-at-home dad to two children. A member of our NYC Dads Group, he and his family live in New Rochelle and enjoy traveling, hiking, and live music. A version of this piece first appeared on his blog, Dig it, Daddy-O.

Finding zen on the trail photo: © kovop58 / Adobe Stock.