I tried to go shopping for Father’s Day yesterday. I was unsuccessful. I know it may not sound like a difficult task, but that’s only because you don’t know my father, my father-in-law or my husband.

For years, the only gifts my dad would ever ask for were socks and sweatshirts and handkerchiefs. For Christmas, we would fill up baskets with these three extremely boring gifts and place them under the tree. After a couple of years, I realized it was probably not a great amount of fun to get the same practical presents for each and every holiday, year after year.

I tried to add more gifts to the familiar repertoire, but my dad likes things he actually needs or will actually use and when he thinks of something like that, he usually just gets it. I saw him at the store last week. He was buying things he really needed, and I asked him if he was still going to have ideas for Father’s Day presents. He said of course. Now, only a week later, I have been told that he really could use some new socks, and that’s all he could think of. With Father’s Day presents coming from five daughters, he should be stocked up by the end of the weekend.