Honoring our Fathers on Father's Day
Posted: June 18, 2020
In June, we celebrate the start of summer vacation for kids and, near the end of the month, fathers. Dads, stepdads, and men who serve as father figures hold a special place in American culture. Fathers are our first male role model and they set the standard for masculine love and nurturing.
The first Father’s Day was celebrated in 1910 in Spokane, Washington. The young woman who started the tradition, Sonora Smart Dodd, wanted to celebrate her father’s love. Sonora’s father, William Jackson Smart, was a Civil War veteran and a single father who raised 6 children.
When we think about our fathers, we often think about the many ways in which they helped us to learn and grow—the time they spent with us on backyard adventures, on the baseball diamond, and school projects. We also remember the support they showed us as we took our first steps, our first spin on a bicycle, and our first trip solo in the car. We remember the lessons we learned from watching them work hard and advance in their careers, take on difficult and even dangerous jobs, and help our mothers manage family life.
As our dad's aged, we witnessed their bodies soften and slow, their retirement celebration, their fondness for travel and hobbies, and perhaps a few health crises. It’s especially difficult to say goodbye to a father—the man who was there for us at the beginning of our lives and who protected us for so long.
A father’s love is different than a mother’s, but it also sacred.
During June, we encourage our Cedar Memorial friends and family members to take time to remember their fathers, as well as the men who served as father figures—special coaches, teachers, and mentors. We have all been blessed by special men in our lives, men who shared their wisdom, their strength, their courage, and their love.
If your father is buried at Cedar Memorial, we invite you to spend extra time at your father’s grave; to remember his favorite food, his favorite vacation spot, or his favorite song. Bring a special bouquet or floral arrangement to lay on his grave that reflects the colors of his favorite sports team or his alma mater.
It’s difficult to go anywhere in June without seeing Fathers’ Day cards and gifts, and this can bring back a flood of memories and emotions. We encourage you to sit with these memories and emotions, to remember the good and the bad, the happy and the sad, and to make space in your heart for your father and his legacy in your life.
We honor our fathers—their many accomplishments and gifts, as well as their love, which lives on in all of us.