Any man can become a father, the age-old saying goes, but it takes a real man to be a dad.

For the real men who accepted the responsibility to raise a child, we salute you. For the real men who, when faced with the life-altering activity of having children and put their own hopes and aspirations on the back burner for their children, a double salute.

There are those, however, who chose to walk away. They chose to slide away from responsibility of raising the child they were instrumental in creating. Those men are fathers by nature, but far from dads.

Good dads are priceless. They can be stern, and giving, but always loving. Good dads will teach life lessons. They will teach their children to throw a ball. They’ll teach them about life and the obstacles thrown in the way. They will be the kind of person children will look up to and admire.

Father’s Day was first celebrated in 1910. Much of the credit for Father’s Day is given to Sonora Smart Dodd of Spokane, Wash. Her father, a Civil War veteran, raised six children on his own after his wife died. Dodd is said to have gotten the idea while listening to a sermon on Mother’s Day. The first Father’s Day was celebrated on June 19, 1910.

It took 14 years for then-President Calvin Coolidge to give his support, and 42 more before Lyndon Johnson proclaimed it a national holiday in 1966. Observance on the third Sunday in June became law in 1972.

This morning, kids will treat their dads to gifts of ugly ties and cheap cologne. Dad will nod and smile, convincing the giver that cheap cologne was on his must-have list. Include a hug and a thank-you to your dad today. It’s easy to create a life and walk away shirking all responsibilities. The difficult part is sticking around, through the good and bad, and transforming children into productive adults.