Happy Fathers' Day

"Turn off Facebook and ignore all social media, avoid people. The posts will depress you, or they will make you jealous. Or both. Either way, it's not going to be a positive experience."

This was the advice given to me by a friend whose parent has passed away. They felt that in order to keep my grief from being compounded, I should avoid acknowledging the celebration of others. That advice rings wholly false to me. This is a day of celebration. Why should my grief, and my missing someone be antithetical to my celebration of them? In my darkest moments, I didn't find solace in my room, or in the bottom of a glass, I find solace in looking into the eyes of another human and remembering that it's pretty awesome to be alive.

Father's Day has forever changed for me, it is no longer a celebration of what I have, but what I had which forever enhances what I have for the future. My father has left us. This is a fact that can't be changed or refuted. But how I approach his departure is up to me. I could choose to mope at not getting to hug him today, but I feel that pain every day. A day with the word "father" attached doesn't make it any greater. 

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