This Father’s Day, just as every other, we’ll buy our dads gifts such as cheap cologne, golf balls and wacky ties that may spend eternity in the bottom of his sock drawer. Fathers, in turn and as humbly as ever, thank us for the thought, regardless of how worthwhile or lackluster the gift may be.

Others may not have such an opportunity, only able to reflect upon the time they spent with the man who once taught them how to throw a baseball, how to build a fort out of blankets or how to hold a door for a lady. The man who was there to catch us when we took our first steps and tend to our bumps and bruises when we fell off our bikes for the first time.

Dads have a lot to live up to these days; to care for and protect their children from dangers that lurk around every corner. They have to teach their kids what is right and what is wrong in a world where the line between is continuously blurred. It’s the most difficult full-time occupation you’ll ever have.

Not all fathers are up to the task. Others learn to love children who are not biologically their own. Some even care for the children on their own, whether they’ve been widowed or are a single parent.

The Tidewater News would like to say “Happy Father’s Day” to those men who have raised their children to be hard-working, intelligent and independent individuals.

As Pope John XXIII said, “It is easier for a father to have children than for children to have a real father.”

Without your love, albeit sometimes tough, they wouldn’t be the people they are today.