Celebrating Father’s Day
We all celebrate being a father in different ways. Some of us like to be surrounded by family; some spend the day hanging out with just the kids; and others prefer a break from it all with some time to themselves. Either way, being a father DOES warrant celebrating, especially if you’re the committed, modern-day, actively involved dad who is adored by your kids. We spend Father’s Day weekend at a friend’s cottage with our two sons… and their two sisters.
You see, before becoming a dad myself, I was a sperm donor and helped a deserving couple become a beautiful family. It was important for them to know their donor so that the girls could meet me some day, if the urge ever came. For me, becoming a donor was important too. It was my way of paying the universe forward since I knew that one day, we would need some high level generosity karma to create our own children. As an added bonus, having navigated the world of assisted reproduction as a donor helped me understand the process better for when we became the parents-to-be. As both our families began to take form, we all became quite close.
The oldest girl, Tobin, is now five years old. She calls me Uncle Frank and understands that “Uncle Frank helped to make me and my baby sister.” As our kids grew, Tobin began calling our boys her brothers and now our son calls the girls his sisters. We spend several weekends a year either celebrating an occasion or just hanging out. I love watching them all play together and often fantasize about all four kids as young adults backpacking across the world together!
It has become tradition that the girls and their moms invite us to their lovely cottage on Father’s Day weekend to celebrate being a “donor uncle.” That celebration evolved when we became dads ourselves so now the weekend is aptly named Father’s / Donor’s Day weekend! We are pampered with sleep-ins, fresh air and a feast of food and drinks.
The kids love all the outdoor play and the adults exchange war stories about work, life and raising young kids. All the while we relish in the unique relationships we are developing and deepening the bonds that tie us in our one big “modern family.” However you celebrate, Happy Father’s Day to all of you!
Frank Emanuele is a proud father of two boys, a special education teacher, and a director of Dad Club London.
