In the past week, my inbox has been filled with subject lines like:
Dad would love a gift card
We've got Father's Day covered
Who's your daddy?
Give Dad the day he deserves
Father's Day is nearly here
I didn't need the reminders. Since my dad died in 2019, Father's Day has loomed over me like the dark cloud that grief so often is. Come June 1, I feel it inching closer as I worry about how I'll feel, what I'll do and what people will say.
Recently, a friend asked how to acknowledge Father's Day with me. Do I want an "I'm thinking of you" text? Do I want them to sit on the couch and watch my dad's favorite movies? Do I want to be left alone?
And while I used to lean toward the latter—keeping to myself and staying off Instagram—in recent years, I've reclaimed Father's Day. I decided that if other people are out toasting their dad over brunch, there's no reason I can't do the same.
After all, it's a day of celebration, whether my dad is here or not. On Father's Day, I want to remember him as the person he was and not as a man who died. I want to eat his favorite pickles, smile thinking about the time he bought balloons because I said I scored a goal in lacrosse (spoiler: I didn't) and cringe at his favorite "joke": If Mia Hamm married the Earl of Sandwich, she'd be Mia Hamm Sandwich. (He would be very excited to know this made its way to E! News.)
I was lucky to have him for 28 years—and that's worth commemorating. And now, my hope is that if you're also grieving today, you'll join me. Let's celebrate our late fathers, their terrible dad jokes and their immeasurable legacies.
Here, in the words of their sons and daughters, is how these dads will always be remembered...