I bought myself a barbecue for Father's Day as a gift. That may sound strange for anyone to replace a perfectly good grill, but we had to replace my old one when we made the full commitment to make our household both gluten and dairy free due to severe allergies. Cross-contamination may be a myth for some, but ignoring the reality has painful, life-threatening consequences nobody should have to endure. We were also planning on traveling and needed something more portable for meal preparation considering our inability to eat at restaurants of any kind, so we settled on the Weber 18-½" Jumbo Joe grill.
My six-year-old son enthusiastically helped me assemble it. He was especially excited as he had never eaten barbecued food because of his dietary restrictions and was looking forward to his first smokey bites. When we were finished putting it together, he looked at it proudly (as this particular grill was meant as a table topper and only reached his waist) and said with gusto:
"Your barbecue is sure my size!"
Of course it is.
He also insisted on making "do not touch" signs, only he had just finished kindergarten and spelled it "do not tush." I took pictures and some videos and had a great time bonding with my son.
Father's Day is perhaps just another day on the calendar or another day of barbecuing in the backyard for some, but for me, Father's Day is about time spent with my wife and children, sharing my love of cooking. Despite it being a day where they are socially obligated to show their appreciation for me, it usually ends up reminding me of how much I appreciate them.
