The father-son relationship that was explored years ago on the old television program The Courtship of Eddie's Father, brought the theme song of that show to my mind just now. "People let me tell you 'bout my best friend. He's a warm hearted person who'll love me till the end." Then I got thinking of all the fathers who don't love their kids to the end.
I have been thinking for several days now about Fathers Day, which is this Sunday. My own dad died a very long time ago and so I had come to terms with him not being around. But then last year my mom died and suddenly I started missing him more than ever. I'm an orphan. Both of my parents are gone. Hallmark and ever restaurant in town are saying to do something for dad. If your father has passed away, today can be a difficult time.
Oh and then there is that wonderful situation where you have a loving father who lives close enough so you can hang out with him, even if only for a short time. You can say "Happy Father's Day" and both have nice warm feelings.
Today is like A Tale of Two Cities in that it can easily be the best of times and the worst of times. Yesterday I wrote about someone who is at peace with his late father. Would it were so for all of us.
There are men who want so badly to become fathers but who never will. There are fathers who have lost children. There are men who are fortunate enough to have good healthy relationships with their kids. What a spectrum. If we hug our dads and show our love while we have the chance, we might steer clear of later regrets. It's tough. Those Hallmark cards might look nice, but how many of them reflect our true experience?
So on Sunday, let's all think of our fathers and those who are like fathers to us. Let's think of the ones who want to be fathers and the kids that make us good fathers. Let us think of those healthy parent-child relationships we all long for. Let us do all we can to make those good thoughts real. Share the great stories. "Let me tell you 'bout my best friend."
No comments:
Post a Comment