Having a husband who never had a Dad in his life makes Father’s Day in the USA one of mixed emotions. It makes you question our obsessiveness to create days that cater to commercialism and endless media attention. Sure it’s lovely to highlight anyone who was a guiding force in your life and in this case a Father. However, I believe it’s also important to realize it might be a struggle for some.
Those who come quickly to mind are individuals with a parent overseas in service, children with an incarcerated father or foster kids leaving in limbo. Even more omnipresent are those individuals in Charleston, SC who just lost a dear loved one, father or brother. This will be a challenging day for many years to come.
Its’ wonderful when people take time to reflect and honor individuals they cherish. That’s one of the positive aspects of Father’s Day, the tributes and photos shared. I’m guilty like all the rest because my brother and I had a phenomenal Dad.
From a wellness perspective if the goal is to create workplaces and communities that enhance wellbeing for ALL maybe it’s time to re-think our approach to special days. Whether it’s Valentine’s, Mother’s or Father’s Day are we doing our best to make all feel included? Could we be more creative and less imposing of what might be labeled only a “commercially creative” holiday.
I’ve written endless blogs sharing ideas that I gained from both my Father and Mother. I firmly believe in praising those who have molded and shaped us into the crazy humans that we are. We don’t however need a “special” day to that. Moreover maybe if we didn’t delegate it to only one day we might be less stingy in our thankfulness. I understand these “special” days are not going to disappear.
I do think from time to time it’s healthy to ponder who is not celebrating the day. Have we done our best to include them in our gatherings and in general daily life? Maybe tomorrow is a chance to start a new tradition with someone who has generally dreaded the day. Take the gauntlet.
For those of us who have followed in our Father’s footsteps what better way to honor them than with a call or random kindness to someone least expecting to hear from you. As a nation we can do better on many fronts. One act of change one person at a time just might be the way forward.
I dedicate this post to our Dad and to all those who never had one. I’m sharing mine with you today!
