For a lot of us, Father’s Day, 2017, will be a mixed blessing. It will be a day of both great sorrow and great joy. My day will begin with a short drive to the cemetery where my Dad and “angel daughter,” Jenna are buried. I’ll clean off their headstones, place a stone and a flower next to their names and sit beside them on an old blanket. Telling them how much I love them, how grateful I am to have had them in my life, how much I miss them and how they live in my heart forever, I will leave a few tears and joyful memories on that grassy hillside.
Holding my hand tightly and sharing the moment will be my “earth daughter,” Stefie, her husband, Tony. Beside me, as always, will be my life-partner, Lisette. Having them with me to share the memory tears and laughter, and then a special breakfast at my favorite cafe will soften the rough edges of the day and put a smile on my face.
My daughters taught me that Father’s Day is every day. Showering me with their love was, and is, a daily (not yearly) celebration. While there’s no such holiday as Son’s or Daughter’s Day, I do my best to shower my kids (including my Son-in-law) with love every day. My daughter Jenna wrote of “undying love” in her journal only hours before she died in March of 1996. Every day, we’re invited to remember, cherish, savor, grieve, give thanks for and take joy in all the blessings of our lives—make new memories—and give undying love it’s full expression. Whether or not your Father’s Day is a mixed blessing, may it be filled with undying love.
What new memory are you hoping to create with your Dad—or son or daughter if you’re a Dad?
