Father’s Day is Sunday, and for many it means celebrating fatherhood with barbecues and beer, or making crayon-drawn cards with promises to mow the lawn, depending on the kids’ ages. It’s a fantastic holiday — if the father is around.

According to the U.S. Census, 43 percent of American children live without their father, many marriages end in divorce, and the parents go on to remarry.

For people like myself, my dad isn’t in my genetic family tree.

I first met my dad when I was a toddler. From what I gather, he fell in love with a hyperactive toddler version of myself and married my mother a few years later. Since then, he helped sculpt me into the hyperactive guy you may have seen running down the road.

They say you can’t pick your family. I beg to differ.

When I was 14 years old, I emancipated myself and filed for a name change. Up until then my name was Matthew Truitt and it didn’t seem right to keep a dirtbag’s name.

I may not be able to pass on my dad’s genes, but I will pass on the traits I picked up while he raised me.

There’s no such thing as a bad time for cake, fires are awesome, and cowboy boots are the epitome of cool.

Genetics mean nothing when it comes to family, most particularly to fathers.

The truly fantastic thing about my dad is that he stuck around and doesn’t take no for an answer when things get rough — though legally he was only my step-dad from when I was 4 years old until I was 22.

But just because their marriage ended when I was well over the age of 18 and I was never legally adopted, it didn’t change anything.

He still gives advice, whether I like to hear it or not. When I fly back to Iowa for a visit, we pick back up right where we left off — I may not look like his biological kids, but there’s no difference in how we’re treated.

My mom is fantastic, and I might have turned out OK if my dad hadn’t stepped up to the plate.

But, statistics say children raised in fatherless homes are more likely to do poorly in school, do drugs, crimes and even commit suicide.

Growing up without a father present means kids are twice as likely to drop out of high school, twice as likely to go to jail and four times more likely to need help for emotional or behavioral provlems, according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

If that’s not enough, the following are some statistics on why dads matter:

• Nearly three-quarters of all pregnant teenagers did not have a father present while growing up according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

• Fatherless children are almost four times more likely to live in poverty. In 2011, 12 percent of children in married families were living in poverty, compared to 44 percent of children in single mother households according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

• About 70 percent of high school dropouts come from fatherless homes, according to the National Principals Association’s report on the state of high schools.

• An estimated 75 percent of all juvenile patients for substance abuse come from fatherless homes.

• Somewhere between 70-85 percent of incarcerated juveniles come from fatherless homes, depending on the region.

• Fatherless kids make up 63 percent of youth suicides, according to the U.S. Census.

• According to the Centers for Disease Control, 85 percent of children with behavior issues are fatherless.

• Nearly all of the homeless and runaway children, 90 percent, are from fatherless homes according to the U.S. Census.

I’m not suggesting there aren’t successful single mothers out there — my younger brother and sister are doing just fine with only their respective moms around. But, there are some things a mom really can’t do for her kids, particularly for boys.

Any man can create a kid, but it takes dedication to be a father.

For mine, it meant being hit below the belt with a baseball bat when the pinata at my fifth birthday party got out of control. It meant having my bedroom door slammed on him a lot, and him getting in just as much trouble with my mom as I did when she caught me chewing and drinking underage — I was a delightful little scamp.

When I see kids with their dads and they look absolutely nothing alike, I wonder if they know just how lucky they are and if they made good on their Father’s Day card’s promise to mow the lawn.

After all, a crayon-drawn card is far more binding than any legal document.