Father’s Day is a time to show appreciation for the men who taught us how to hit a baseball (and read the batting averages), who took us on our first driving lesson (and nearly had a heart attack), and who scolded us for playing with the matches and hairspray (even though they’re the ones who taught us the trick in the first place). It is a day to give thanks to the person who selflessly supported us throughout our upbringing and who ultimately forgave us all those years we scoffed at his advice and (what we considered) his lack of knowledge and experience.

In adulthood, of course, we are now able to see the wisdom of his years. As grown ups, we realize the merit of his lessons regarding respecting others and ourselves, about what it means to keep your word and how to say no. As parents, we can now recognize how much he taught us about raising a family and what it means to be a hero in the eyes of a child.

Many believe that Father’s Day is something cooked up by Hallmark, and, although the card, tool and gadget makers of the world are gaining much of the fiscal benefits of modern-day gift giving, they are not to be given credit for the introduction of this national holiday.

In the early 1900’s, while listening to a Mother’s Day mass, Mrs. John B. Dodd was inspired to pay tribute to her father, a widower who raised six children alone after her mother died giving birth. The subsequent mass honoring the war veteran has grown, over the last century, into our contemporary secular holiday, and is celebrated worldwide on the third Sunday of June each year.

According to the census bureau, there are roughly 36 million dads with kids under the age of 18 in their homes. An estimated $1 billion dollars is spent on Father’s Day gifts each year. But before you assume dads across the nation are feeling the love, consider that Father’s Day phone lines experience more collect calls than any other day of the year—with those on the receiving end of the line footing the bill.

But, after sending the check to the phone company, there are some pretty cool things that come with being a dad. Deputy Attorney General, Jason Dunn, says, “My favorite moment being a father occurs every day when I pull into the garage after work: before I’ve even shut the car off, my 3-year-old daughter, Ashley, opens the garage door and yells, ‘Daddy!” with a huge smile. Makes my day every time.”

Pat Bruno, who owns Colorado’s premier entertainment company, A Music Plus, says the best thing about being dad to his 5-year-old twins is, “seeing the world through my kids eyes.”

“Being a father”, corporate chef, Mark Stussi adds, “means providing guidance, leadership and fun.”

Fathers are an essential part of a child’s life. They protect us, encourage us, challenge us, and above all, they love us. And on this day, they deserve gratitude, recognition and admiration for a job well done. So, pick up the phone and give your old dad a call…but please—don’t call collect.

Some Quotes from Father’s We Know and Love:

“I cannot think of any need in childhood as strong as the need for a father’s protection.” –Sigmund Freud

“Fathers are the geniuses of the house because only a person as intelligent as we could fake such stupidity. Think about your father: He doesn’t know where anything is. You ask him to do something, he messes it up and your mother sends you: ‘Go down and see what your father’s doing before he blows up the house.’ He’s a genius at work because he doesn’t want to do it, and he knows someone will be coming soon to stop him.” — Bill Cosby

“To be a successful father there’s only one absolute rule: when you have a kid, don’t look at it for the first two years.” –Ernest Hemingway

“Spread the diaper in the position of the diamond with you’re at bat. Then, fold second base down to home and set the baby on the pitcher’s mound. Put first base and third together, bring up home plate and pin the three together. Of course, in case of rain, you gotta call the game and start all over again.” –Jimmy Piersal

“And you know, having your best friend be your father is a very unique thing.” –Tiger Woods

“If a woman has to choose between catching a fly ball and saving an infant’s life, she will choose to save the infant’s life without even considering if there are men on base.” –Dave Barry

“You don’t have to deserve your mother’s love. You have to deserve your father’s. He’s more particular.” -Robert Frost

“The father of a daughter is nothing but a high-class hostage. A father turns his stony face to his sons, berates them, shakes his antlers, paws the ground, snorts, runs them off into the underbrush, but when his daughter puts her arm over his shoulder and says, ‘Daddy, I need to ask you something,’ he is a pat of butter in a hot frying pan.” -Garrison Keillor

“It’s not easy to juggle a pregnant wife and a troubled child, but somehow I managed to fit in eight hours of TV a day.” -Homer Simpson