Father’s Day brings an opportunity for many to acknowledge and celebrate their fathers. Truthfully, this is a rare occurrence because dads are often overlooked. We have very high expectations of the patriarch of the family but we fail to recognize their efforts on a daily basis. We reserve it for that one shining moment called Father’s Day.

Having lost my father, Father’s Day is different for me, not a sad time, but a different time. As I watched all the Father’s Day posts on my feed this past weekend, I found myself scrolling past each of them. I didn’t take the time to like anybody’s post or send any words of jubilee. I just couldn’t find the strength to engage. The crazy part is my dad always celebrated Juneteenth. It was a holiday in our household all of my life. So, to have Juneteenth on Saturday and Father’s Day on Sunday had me in a slight slump.

Instead of moping and thinking about things that I can’t change, my family and I decided to take full advantage of the weekend. My husband fired up the pit for Juneteenth because that is exactly what my dad would have done. My dad actually took off work and still didn’t get a fire started until everybody else had completed a full day of work. On Father’s Day we took a quick getaway to relax and walk away from the hustle and bustle of life as well as the memories of what we used to do on Father’s Day. And of all the things that were said and done, to see my son laugh and smile as my husband spoke of my dad and some of his antics of years ago was heartwarming. My son hadn’t spoke of my dad or smiled when hearing conversations about my day since 2019. To hear him crack jokes and laugh about the grandfather that spoiled him immensely blessed my heart. That one moment in time was pure joy and a win for me.

How did you celebrate your father? If you have lost your father, how do you cope with that reality on days like Father’s Day?