"Would you like to tie me up with some of your ties, Ty?"

In our office, ties are the norm. I ranted about our so-called casual dress policy that comes into effect in the summer, which amounts to wearing the same clothes as the rest of the year sans tie, but for most of the year, ties come with the territory.

I have three ties I can wear at no other time of the year, except now. As of last week, I only had two. I had one Dr. Seuss tie sporting the Grinch Who Stole Christmas (which is today's choice, by the way), and a tie featuring Santa playing golf, Rudolph caddying and an elf chauffering the golf cart in a variety of scenes. I bought neither of these ties. I came upon them the same way I came upon the latest addition, which the wife and youngster proudly bestowed upon me only days ago. They go shopping and find some tacky Christmas tie, and feel the need to see me in it. The new one again features Santa in a golf motif, as Santa is putting in the snow, again with a reindeer caddy. Apparently reindeer make excellent caddies. Who knew? Why they thought I needed two that follow the exact same theme is beyond me, but yes...this week and next, I will wear all three as much as humanly possible, because it's the only time I can.

Well, that's not the real reason. While it's true, it's the only time I can, it's also one of those dad things you have to do, because you are one. Your kid buys this stuff, because in their heart of hearts, they think it's cool. Not the tie, necessarily. The tie is not cool. What is cool, is dressing your dad in a tie that isn't cool, and sending him off to work, to be seen by his co-workers and do whatever it is he does there....and yeah, I think I can handle that, because I'm a dad.