I lost my dad in March of last year.
I lost my father-in-law on Christmas Day, last year.
So, this is my first Father's Day without either of them. To be fair (and I've written about this before), I didn't really know my father all that well and when he passed I mourned the relationship I never had with him more than anything else. My father-in-law, aka Rod the Legend, is a different story as he was very present in my life as my 'dad' for the last nearly 25 years. There is a sincere feeling of loss today without making a phone call to Rod, wishing him a Happy Father's Day, and then joking about how ridiculous something in the news is or how stupid Biden has been. I miss knowing that he's reading what I'm writing and I find myself most days thinking about how funny he might find something I wrote, especially if I got to use a nickname he gave to someone famous.
Like Nancy Peloser.
Luckily, I married a good man who turned out to be a pretty spectacular husband and amazing father, as evident this morning when both of our teenage children wished him a Happy Father's Day without being reminded to do so. Sadly in this day and age, fathers and the part they play in our lives is written off in favor of other narratives that are supposed to empower certain identities or agendas. Nobody wants to talk about how often the children of single moms struggle ... and it's not that moms do a bad job, it's just that children who grow up with both a mother and a father have more support. And where mom may be better at this, dad is better at THAT. It's not a reflection of women being less than men because I would say the same about a child growing up without a mom.
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Family matters.
It always has, it does, and it always will, regardless of how hard our pals on the Left and in the Democratic Party keep trying to destroy it. I know that sounds melodramatic and even a little tinfoil'ish but when you look at their policies and the people they pander to it's abundantly clear that they see family as a barrier.
Especially the traditional family with a mom and a dad.
Because in the grand scheme of things, dads matter. They just do. And while we have this day to celebrate them I believe we should celebrate them every day. Especially the ones who make up stories about mustard bugs and go above and beyond to make sure their kids still believe in Santa Claus ... the ones who teach them how to draw and how to throw a football.
Like my kids' dad.
Yeah, I'm a little biased.
All of this being said, HAPPY FATHER'S DAY to all the dads reading this and know that YOU DO MATTER. And we love you.
