For years, Father’s Day was just like any other day to me. Only after I became a mother did I truly begin to appreciate first-hand the bond between a child and his/her father. After my divorce, for many years this holiday brought up mixed feelings for me– I was so happy my son could enjoy having his father in his life, yet so sad that we could not all stay together as an intact family.
Whatever feelings the holidays may conjure up in my clients, I always counsel them to encourage their minor children to acknowledge their fathers on Father’s Day, along with every other holiday, by getting a card at a minimum, and if possible a gift. In the end, no matter how much some might resent their ex-spouses, they have to admit that they once loved that person and as a result of that love a child was produced.
This Father’s Day, for the first time in ages, there are no mixed feelings for me. I have finally found the answers to questions that have plagued me for a lifetime. By understanding my maker, the one in whose image I was created, I have gained tremendous ground in becoming more self-aware, and more importantly for the first time in my life, I have found true acceptance.
