Tomorrow is Father’s Day. As we know, it’s the day to honor our fathers – take them out, visit them, or at least call them or send a card. That’s wonderful (although it should be done so frequently that it’s not unusual) whenever it’s possible. Some people can’t do that for different reasons, though. Almost anyone who doesn’t have someone to call or visit on Father’s Day probably wishes they could just sleep through the entire day. I’m in that group. Some ‘without’ fathers will spend their day with their children, so that will take some of the sting out of it. My father-in-law died two years ago, my father died last year (a month before Father’s Day), and my children will be spending the day with their father. Even our grandfathers are gone. My husband and I have each other, and are very thankful for that, but we have no one to visit or call (or even parent) during the day. Last Father’s Day was a numbing blur to me, and this one seems like it’s going to be just as bad. I’ll try not to dwell on it too much, but I know I’ll sit there and wish I could have contact with my dad.
The best way to get through a tough day like that is to keep busy. It occurred to me, while I was thinking of some way to occupy my mind to make the day go by faster, that there are fathers out there who will be alone tomorrow. I’m sure some of them, like us, are in a situation they didn’t cause or want, and they will also have an emotionally difficult day.
So, I want to figure out how to connect with someone who is a father but has no one to visit him. I just thought of this idea today, and I’m still working through how to accomplish what I want to do. I plan to try contacting a local VA hospital or nursing home. I would really love to spend time with someone who cannot see his own children for whatever reason.
If all else fails, I might end up driving around with sandwiches to hand out to the homeless. It’s not the same as visiting someone else’s father, but helping others gives a sense of purpose, and can brighten everyone’s day.
While searching for information earlier today, I found different websites that have ideas of other ways spend the day for those of us without a father to call or visit. One suggestion I liked is to spend time doing something your father loved to do when he was alive, whether it’s going to one of his favorite places or listening to his favorite music. Of course, there were others such as visiting his grave, or writing down your feelings.
I know I will spend some of the day just thinking about my dad, and how much I miss him. That’s nothing new, though.
Suellen
