Father's Day 2014

Today is Father’s Day and I wanted to pay tribute to those fathers who have lost a child, no matter the age, no matter the reason.

Sometimes fathers get lost in the shuffle of a tragic event. Many dads are asked by friends, “How is your wife doing?”

“What about me,” some of the father’s shout inside themselves. “I am just as important, and I have feelings too!”

Many look at the male figure as being able to cope better than the female, but that definitely isn’t true. While some men believe they are the rock that holds the family together; and they very well may be, when all is said and done, they too hurt; they too cry for the loss; and they too may very well fall apart.

It is true that men hold their feelings in more so than women. He is the fixer; he is the problem solver. He is told since his youngest days that he must be strong; he must not cry. No matter what he did, he could not stop what happened.

Inside, they think, “Am I still a father if my only child has died?” Rest assured that you will always be a father, whether your child is alive or not. Nothing can take that from you and nothing can take your child’s memory from you or how much you loved him/her.

Perhaps this Father’s Day should be a time when family members, whoever they are, give dad a hug, do something special, help him with the chores, and, most of all, let him know how important, needed and loved he is.

Happy Father’s Day to all.