Although I send my fondest wishes for a Happy Father’s Day to all of you Dads out there, this year is very tough. My email box overflowed with gift ideas and special tributes to Fathers. Every one of them made my throat tighten and my eyes moisten.
It’s not the first year that my husband and I had no male parent. But last year, when my father-in-law left us on June 13 last year, we were pretty much oblivious to everything else including that year’s Father’s Day.As a result this year feels like the first year.
We miss our Dads all the time but today is more poignant than others.
We think they were both pretty special guys with big hearts, generous spirits and love that never ended. My dad, Leon Butcher (left), passed away on the same day that Katrina hit New Orleans in 2005. He was just weeks away from his 78th birthday.My father-in-law, Bill Fanning (right), departed just a month before his 85th birthday.
They certainly didn’t die young but still it feels as if they died way too soon.
Happy Father’s Day, Dads!