Social Media Uproar: My Facebook Update on Father's Day

The above is what I wrote on my Facebook wall on Father's Day, Sunday, 18th of June, 2017. 

I wrote it based on my life, hoping it would cause some positive changes in the way men and women who have broken relationships and have children together think for the sake of their children.

Unfortunately, the Nigerian mentality in men and a few women seems to be a hard nut to crack. My wall was bombarded with reasons why I should not call my ex-husband an asshole, why I should not put my private life in the public, why I should protect the children, why I should go and reconcile with my husband, why I should take down the post, why I should be closer to God, bla, bla, bla.

Those against this update fail to realize that my Facebook wall is mine, my data is mine, my story is mine and my decision is mine. As Facebook friends, they are free to advise me but not impose their decisions on me with fallacious proverbs and irrelevant Bible passages. 

My children know my story. In fact, they were the ones who informed me of their father's adultery with my once upon a time best friend, Busayo Adegbite, before I heard the same story from my neighbours and neigbourhood folks. She later apologised to me but the harm had been done. It was too hard a story to believe.

They were there when he would beat me up and threaten to kill me for coming back late from work or because he suspects that I am cheating on him, an accusation he has not yet been able to prove to his family head the last time I reported him.

The fact remains that a good father is not equals to a good husband. This research result is as simple as ABC.

Anyway, my update caught Ali Baba's attention and he put it on his Instagram page. Most of his followers were able to see the positive side of my update. That is good enough for me. Negative people can go and jump inside the lagoon. 

My life is sweet!

See Ali Baba's update:

https://www.instagram.com/p/BVe7JQYAKEE/?taken-by=alibabagcfr

History of Father's Day

Credit: techicy.com

The History of Father’s Day in the United States

There are two stories of when the first Father’s Day was celebrated. According to some accounts, the first Father’s Day was celebrated in Washington state on June 19, 1910. A woman by the name of Sonora Smart Dodd came up with the idea of honoring and celebrating her father while listening to a Mother’s Day sermon at church in 1909. 

She felt as though mothers were getting all the acclaim while fathers were equally deserving of a day of praise.

Sonora’s dad ,William Smart, a veteran of the Civil War, was left a widower when his wife died while giving birth to their sixth child. He went on to raise the six children by himself on their small farm in Washington. 

To show her appreciation for all the hard work and love William gave to her and her siblings, Sonora thought there should be a day to pay homage to him and other dads like him. 

Initially, she suggested June 5th, the anniversary of her father’s death to be the designated day to celebrate Father’s Day, but due to some bad planning, the celebration in Spokane, Washington was deferred to the third Sunday in June.

Sonora Smart Dodd and her father

The other story of the first Father’s Day in America happened all the way on the other side of the country in Fairmont, West Virginia on July 5, 1908. Grace Golden Clayton suggested to the minister of the local Methodist church that they hold services to celebrate fathers after a deadly mine explosion killed 361 men.

While Father’s Day was celebrated locally in several communities across the country, unofficial support to make the celebration a national holiday began almost immediately. William Jennings Bryant was one of its staunchest proponents. In 1924, President Calvin “Silent Cal” Coolidge recommended that Father’s Day become a national holiday. But no official action was taken.

In 1966, Lyndon B. Johnson, through an executive order, designated the third Sunday in June as the official day to celebrate Father’s Day. However, it wasn’t until 1972, during the Nixon administration, that Father’s Day was officially recognized as a national holiday.

Father’s Day Around The World

Other countries also picked up on the idea of Father’s Day. While many followed suit by celebrating it on the third Sunday in June, some decided to honor dad on different dates. 

Happy Father's Day!