For the Stocks family, spending time together on Father’s Day is important. Pictured are three generations: Bill Stocks, his son, Adam Stocks, and Adam and Karen Stocks’ five sons Jackson, 11, John-William, 13, Anthony, 4, Dane, 2, and Michael, 9. Bob Crisp/The Daily Home
“Family is very important,” said Adam Stocks, of Pell City. “My wife Karen and I are both big believers in family. Family dictates our family.”
Stocks said they have both sets of family over to the house, usually for a barbecue, once a week.
“I’ll be getting my dad a phone call for Father’s Day—we are not big gift-givers in our family,” he said. “We would rather spend time with them, barbecuing with family, than worrying about a gift.”
For this Father’s Day, Stocks said it will be like any given Sunday in the Stocks household, which includes five boys: John-William, 13, Jackson, 11, Michael, 9, Anthony, 4, and Dane, 2.
“We will get up with just enough time to iron clothes and get to church with a quick Pop-Tart breakfast on the way out the door, and try not to speed on the way to church,” he said. “There is no sleeping in for dad on any day—not even Father’s Day. It’s part of being a dad.”
“That’s why I’m only having two kids,” Michael said. “I want a boy and a girl. If we get two boys, I’m not sure if we would try for a girl—mom tried that five times and got five boys.”
Michael said for his Father’s Day gift, he plans to make a card.
“I’ll write Happy Father’s Day and draw giant butterflies on both pages of my card, with a rainbow on the front,” he said. “That’s about all.”
Jackson said for his gift, he will fold a piece of construction paper in half and write “Happy Father’s Day” and “Have a Great Day” on it.
“I might put football decorations, or maybe a catfish,” he said. “I like to fish a lot with my dad. I will take him fishing on Father’s Day, if he will come.”
Stocks said the family has a little pond at the house and he will spend part of Father’s Day outside fishing with his sons who want to fish, jumping on the trampoline and riding scooters.
“My dad says it all the time how in the blink of an eye—they’re grown and out of the house,” he said. “It seems like just yesterday that John-William was born. Now, he is 13 and going into the eighth grade and two years away from driving a car.”
John-William said he might make his dad a card for a gift.
“Momma gets the gifts and puts our names on it,” he said. “But in the past we have made picture frames with handprints and footprints.”
John-William said if he makes a card, he plans to write really big so the words take up a lot of room.
“I might draw a stick person with a smiley face,” he said.
And for lunch—that’s something dad gets to pick on Father’s Day.
“I’m not sure which restaurant I’ll pick,” Stocks said. “I’ll figure it out when we get in the car after church and turn the air on. It depends on what kind of mood we are in.”
Stocks’ father, Bill Stocks, said he plans to sleep in this Father’s Day.
“It’s hard to sleep in the rest of the week,” he said. “Father’s Day will just be another morning, but with no social duties with the members of the Pell City breakfast club.”
Bill Stocks said although his kids are out of the home, it doesn’t mean they are out of his heart and mind.
“On Father’s Day, if you are a father all you gotta do is think about your kids—that’s a reward in itself,” he said.
Contact Elsie Hodnett at ehodnett@dailyhome.com.
