And now, Father’s Day. Also, best fruit salad ever. With no added sugar!

OK, the good thing is: We get Mother’s and Father’s Day over within a few weeks of each other. Then I can revert to standard grump mode, as opposed to raging about the nonexistent parenting in my long-ago past. Even I realize this last hurts me as opposed to anyone else, especially those no longer living.

And I am married to a terrific father — I must always remember that. It makes him so sad to tell our youngest that she shouldn’t drive 7 hours to get here this weekend when she might have a problem that makes it dangerous for her to sit that long, but he did it. Adulting is sometimes so not fun, one of the reasons my father only did it at work (and then not when he boinked the wife of an assistant).

Please don’t bother being a father if you can’t be bothered to control your impulses, urges and temper. If you can only acknowledge your children for their A+’s and not any piddly ol’ A’s. You can accomplish other things in this world without terrorizing little people in your house (not home). You can boss others and probably get just as much satisfaction as if you were chief and feared dictator of children and wife.

So, there, maybe that’s out of my system for another year during which I plan to eat this Martha Stewart Tropical Fruit Salad at least every week. It is the most wonderful blending of gentle summer flavors — mint, lime and coconut along with the fruit — and it keeps improving as it sits in the fridge (which won’t be very long). Loaded with antioxidants, it’s healthy and quick to assemble. Win, win and win!

Tropical fruit salad

1 fresh pineapple, cut into bite-size chunks

1 pound (1 quart) fresh strawberries, halved

1 teaspoon finely grated lime zest plus 2 tablespoons juice (probably 1 lime)

1/2 cup fresh mint leaves, washed, dried and chiffonaded (snipped into shreds with scissors)

1/4 cup coconut chips, toasted**

In bowl, combine all ingredients. Toss with two spoons to distribute the lime and mint flavors. Sprinkle coconut on top. Supposedly 4 servings but not around here!

**If you don’t see already toasted coconut chips in the grocery, throw 1/2 cup shredded coconut onto tray in toaster oven set at 350° and stand there, watching it until it browns. This will happen much faster than you expect — like, only a few minutes, at most, if the oven’s pre-heated.