I’m old enough now to remember a time our then-young daughter brought home a large chunk of clay with the impression of her hand in it. Apparently, it was a class project for Father’s Day.

Another year, she bought me a coffee cup with a cute saying — long since forgotten and long since broken.

This year I don’t expect anything but a “Happy Father’s Day,” although last year she sprung for a bottle of my favorite single-malt whisky.

Throughout the land on June 15, Father’s Day will be “celebrated” as children are cajoled by their mothers to remember “Dear Old Dad.”

Father’s Day is actually quite new among the days of family celebrations.

According to one of my favorite authors, Paula LaRocque, in her book “On Words,” the first Father’s Day was in Spokane, Wash., in 1910. It was the creation of Sonora Dodd, whose father, William Smart, was a farmer who was widowed and raised his six children alone.

“As an adult, Sonora Dodd realized how selfless and courageous her father had been, and she wanted to thank him and all such fathers,” LaRocque wrote.

She chose June because it was William Smart’s birth month. Interestingly, June is named after the Roman goddess Juno, who was the protector of women. So, inadvertently, the June date makes sense.

It wasn’t until 1966 when President Lyndon Johnson signed a proclamation declaring the third Sunday in June as Father’s Day. It was in 1972 that President Nixon signed a law making Father’s Day a permanent observance, demonstrating that Democrats and Republicans can agree on a few things.

Unlike Mother’s Day — which is where Moms can, and should, be served breakfast in bed, taken out to breakfast, or lunch, or dinner — Dad’s generally are given leeway if they want to watch a baseball game, soccer game or go out and play a round golf with no pressure about doing chores around the house.

I’m not much into sports — that was my late wife’s passion — and I don’t play golf. But if I got out of the house to spend the day at work everyone was happy because my wife could watch the San Francisco Giants without interruption and our daughter could play her video games.

Sometimes, I’d head out to a park and see what other fathers were doing for a story or photos. They were usually playing with the kids, grilling hot dogs and drinking beers.

Occasionlly, I’d be asked to barbecue steaks for a Father’s Day dinner after getting home, but not much else. This year, I’ll probably celebrate by going to Blue Note Brewery on June 14 for some beers. It won’t technically be Father’s Day, but Blue Note is celebrating its 10th anniversary and I’d rather hoist a few pints a day early than a day late.

LaRocque writes that the word “Father” has been an English word for as long as there has been an English language, although its form and pronunciation have changed. The word itself descends from the Indo-European word for father, “pater,” which incorporates the ancient root “pa,” meaning to feed and protect.

That’s something to think about, isn’t it? Calling your old man “Pa” means that you expect him to feed and protect you.

Other forms derived from the same source, such as the Sanskrit “pitar,” the Old English “faeder,” the Germanic “fader,” the Latin “pater,” and Spanish “padre.” The Greeks, by the way, had the word “pappas,” and the French “pere.”

Other derivations include patriarch, paternal, patron, pastor and pope, all denote fatherly benefactors. Even “Paternoster,” the Lord’s Prayer, literally means “our father.”

Whatever you call the “old man,” realize he’s there for you when needed.

Jim Smith is the former editor of The Daily Democrat, retiring in 2021 after a 27-year career at the paper.