本文是美国留学生Jessica写作并朗读的散文。在中国留学的她无法陪伴爸爸一起度过父亲节，所以她希望这篇文章能够传达他对父亲的一片爱心……

Fathers represent the strength, power, and authority in a family. They are traditionally the bread winners and are tasked with the responsibility for providing for the family. So, with the best interest of their families on their minds, fathers set out ever day to battle all the obstacles of modern life just so they can return home to a meal and comfortable home where they know their family is safe and secure. In turn, much of a father's wishes and desires are sacrificed but the father carries this burden gracefully¹ because he understands the gravity and importance of his first job as a father.

Fathers are always the parent you went to as a child when mom or grandma said no. Dads were always the one who let you stay out till sunset building the tree house with the neighborhood kids or the one who let you finish the seventh baseball game in the park before coming home for dinner. Dads were always the instigators too. It was always dad who motivated your little sister to put pepper in your drink at the dinner table as he sat back and watched the shenanigans he orchestrated unfold. Dad was the one who taught you how to throw a baseball, climb a tree, use the computer, shoot a 3-pointer, drive a car, and even ace² an interview. Dad is the one always there ready to teach, learn, and play. He takes enjoyment³ in growing with his children so he is always down in the dirt accompanying his child through their discovery of life.

Unlike mothers, who traditionally play a more nurturing⁴, fathers play a more mentoring⁵ role in their daughter or son's life. Fathers, Dads, Uncles, or whoever may be the father figure to one child take on the responsibility for not only overseeing a child's physical development but many times also the responsibility for a child's mental development. Due to the idea that Father's have strength, power, and authority they also have a way of presenting children with a challenge. Fathers care so much for their children and want the best for them that so many times their expectations for their children are very high. They want their children to have the best education, to play on the best sports teams, to be on the best dance troupes⁶, to have the prettiest bikes, to have the smartest pets, etc. because they want to see their children happy and running with the best of the best. So many fathers have high expectations and this presents children with the challenge to meet their fathers’ expectations. Sometimes this can be difficult and creates a tension in the relationship between a father and son or a father and daughter; however, other times this dynamic is very good and allows for a special relationship to develop between the father and child.

For, example my Dad was a philosophy major as an undergraduate and he read quite a lot when he was a young man before he met my mom so he is a very thoughtful man. We may not talk as frequently as my mom and I do about everyday happenings, but when we do talk it is always meaningful. He has a certain way of asking questions on how I am feeling about something or just on life in general that is able to provoke much thought within myself. He has a fantastic way of asking me the right questions in order for me to develop and articulate feelings and answers on difficult concepts. When I learn something new and mind blowing at school, or I read an interesting article, or I make a connection between two things we had been discussing or exploring before, it is always my Dad who I go to or e-mail first to share him my little achievements. Due to the way dynamic way our relationship has grown, I always wish to please him because in the years of my being my father has found a way to transmit his love for learning and knowledge to me, so I have begun to share his own visions for the future and feel that I can help make that vision a reality.

There are many children with out visible father figures. They may have fathers that passed away before they were born, or fathers that must live far away, or fathers that are just not frequently around because they are consumed with work and providing for the family financially. In these cases, many children feel sad, short changed, and attention starved from a key person in their lives. Sometimes when I was young and I saw this happening, where my father was extremely consumed with his work and had little time to see my soccer games or eat dinner with my mom and I or just spent time with me in general, I would remind my dad of a song called "Cat's in the Cradle." This song tells of a father and son relationship where the father is very busy with work and things and has little time for his little boy while he is growing up. However, when the boy becomes a young man and starts to drive and goes off to college and the father is old and grey and has slowed down in his old age the son no longer has time for his father because he wants to be a successful career man just like his father was. So as time goes on, they essentially⁷ miss each other as they never could synchronize⁸ their time to stop and spend time together. The chorus of the song goes like this " ... and the cat's in the cradle and the silver spoon, the little boy blue ran off with the moon, when you coming home Dad, I don't know when but we'll be together soon." So whenever I felt like this was happening with my dad and me, I would just start singing the chorus and my Dad would smile and make it a priority to stop and find out what was up with my life. It was a good method while I have growing up as a child, but now as I'm getting older it is increasingly difficult to coordinate⁹ the time to spend with each other.

Thus, Father's Day is an extra special time to make your father and his place in your life a priority. Despite the particular type of relationship one may have with their father, fathers all occupy an intrinsic part of our being and it is important to recognize and express our appreciation¹⁰ for their special role and impact. So don't let the Cats in the Cradle get you this father's day.