A father's influence is far-reaching

 It occurred to me at 4 a.m. the other morning (I do a lot of early-morning tossing and turning as I think of ideas for this space) that it took a lot of different fathers to raise our two daughters.

Our girls benefited from the guidance of their own father, of course, who instilled common sense and a work ethic in them, and tried mightily to get them to like fishing. Much to his chagrin, the girls turned up their noses at worms and slimy fish, and to this day don’t much care to eat fish.

Beyond the tutelage of their own father, our daughters learned a lot from other dads. Both were avid softball players and more often than not the coaches were their teammates’ fathers. They had some great mentors and I always admired the patience and encouragement they brought to the ballfields.

I remember one softball tournament in particular when our younger daughter was just 6. It had been an all-day affair at the fields. She was hot, sweaty and tired. During the final game she had a great hit that turned out to be a home run, but only because her coach actually ran alongside her in the home stretch, urging her to move her weary legs just a little faster.

To me, there’s not enough praise in the world for the dads (and moms) who give of their time to coach our kids. They instill the value of teamwork and hard work in them, but it’s sometimes a thankless job, especially when a team hits a losing streak or the coach is second-guessed by niggling parents.

I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention the fathers who were at the helm of our church’s young group and taught Sunday school — especially the junior high classes — when our daughters were still in school. Our older daughter was a mixture of mischief and sass back then, and I had to smile as one of her former Sunday school teachers marveled many years later that she had turned out to be an accomplished young woman.

Fathers love their children, and seem to have a special place in their hearts for their daughters. When our girls were preschoolers, it was Dad who provided the rough-and-tumble fun. They lived for “play time” with their father, who swung them around and let them ride on his back, much like my own father had done a generation earlier.

It’s no wonder that when our younger daughter got married, she chose “Daddy’s Girl” for the father-daughter dance. You’ve heard the refrain: “Daddy’s girl, daddy’s girl; I’m the center of Daddy’s world. I know I’m Daddy’s number one, for he loves me like I was his son...”

Today we celebrate fatherhood and pay tribute to the more than 70 million fathers in America. We acknowledge your love, the sacrifices you make, the wisdom and guidance you instill.

An old African proverb says it takes a village to raise a child, but an integral part of that village are the fathers who go the distance to make a difference in a child’s life.

Happy Father’s Day.

Features editor Lynnette Hintze may be reached at 758-4421 or by email at lhintze@dailyinterlake.com.