Father’s Day should be one of the most important days that we recognize every year.

Obviously without a father, none of us would be here, biologically speaking. You have to have both a father and mother to have a baby.

However, there’s much more to being a parent than having a baby. What happens after the baby arrives is really where the main job of being a father or a mother begins.

There are plenty of people who are in parenting roles that never had children of their own. You can be a father through adoption, by being an example to another child, by being there for him or her, showing support, challenging children, teaching them lessons and showing him or her love.

I guess one thing I’ve always considered being a good dad is to give your children an opportunity to be successful, by providing them the resources (whether financial, education or otherwise) needed.

Your father can’t make you a success, but he can help you “get your foot in the door,” a cliche that probably my brother and I heard all too often when we were transitioning from college to work. But it helped.

And I appreciate my father for helping get that opportunity. I may not be as successful as I would like, but many people don’t get that chance.

This year, Father’s Day definitely has a higher level of importance than most years, especially since my dad recently was hospitalized with an illness. Thankfully, he’s been released and will be home on this special day.

But when this happens, it reemphasizes how important it is to spend time with your family as much as you can. Our fathers and mothers play an important role in our lives, but they won’t always be with us.

So I encourage you to spend time with your father on Sunday, if you can. If you’re father has already passed away, this is be a good time to reflect on him.

Thank you dad for all that you’ve done for me.

Brent Maze is the managing editor of the Hartselle Enquirer.