Being a father – one that takes up responsibility for the little angels under your care – is an underrated title. Fatherhood in this generation is highly underrated.

Social media has created a façade that true fatherhood is evidenced by getting handcrafted cards from your children (mostly girls choreographed by their mothers), memes from the mothers and busy bodies whose sole mission is to cash in on the craze.

When Matt (Kevin Hart) opts to bring up his baby girl (Maddy) as a single dad, after the unexpected death of his wife who died a day after their daughter’s birth, not even his mother or his mother in law believes he is up to the task. Matt has to juggle with doubts, fears, heartache and dirty diapers as he sets out to raise his daughter on his own (Fatherhood, 2021).

The story of Matt is not strange to many.

If you are a first-born son where daddy is either deceased or dead beat, highly likely, you will find yourself being the father to your siblings over and above your very own children. On a day like today, which is Father’s Day, you will not be cherished with the bu-ha-he that social media seems to suggest.

In an earlier post on this blog, Fathers, Rise up and be DADs, I suggested to dads that it is my sole responsibility to take care of me on this journey of fatherhood. Don’t wait to be tagged with accolades.

The shocking reality is that some of the ones you have sacrificed the most for, will not even spare 160 characters to write an sms to say, thank you on this day. The fact that a few men have goofed on the job, only makes it hard to get any honor.

Should we (I) then drop ball because there is no honor for the sacrifices we have made? A toxic partner will go overdrive to exasperate on how you are a useless man. Never mind that the burden of providing for the child in between the two of you is heavily on you. You will be condemned for not measuring to expectation.

Don’t wait for the affirmation. It may not come. Do not tire to encourage and comfort your children.

On this day, Father’s Day, do not ignore your grind and wait for the party to be hosted in your honor. Keep plodding. One day, one time, hopefully, one soul will stop and say, dad except for your sacrifice and the wounds in your hands, I would not be who and what I am today.

President Lyndon B. Johnson once said, “In the homes of our Nation, we look to the fathers to provide the strength and stability which characterize the successful family. If the father’s responsibilities are many, his rewards are also great—the love, appreciation, and respect of children and spouse.”

Fatherhood will forever remain a daunting task, but with eternal impact. “If the father’s responsibilities are many, his rewards are also great—the love, appreciation, and respect of children and spouse,”- Lyndon B. Johnson.

Fathers, I celebrate us on this day. Let us join hands and honor each other. I urge you not tire in doing good, for it will be rewarded in due course.