Fathers Day is this Sunday and for some of us, it can prove to be awkward or painful if we don’t have a Father figure in our life, or perhaps are not on speaking terms with the person who raised us.
Social media makes it really difficult to avoid days such as Fathers Day – so here are my top 3 tips on how to handle Fathers Day if the whole thing proves to be stressful for you.
1. Think about who means something to you. Who would YOU define as a Father figure?
You don’t have to feel guilty about celebrating somebody other than your own biological father, if you don’t have a current relationship with the man who created you. Maybe you have never even met your Father – but there could have been a step Dad, or several people, who played an important part in raising you. Celebrate those people (or that person) and don’t feel guilty about it. Families come in all shapes and sizes, and today, you can buy cards that are for Father Figures – it’s not as tradtional as it used to be as society is finally realisng that not all of us have a traditional family.
2. Don’t be afraid to reach out if things are not great between you.
Life is short. It really is, isn’t it? If you want to reach out to your Dad, but are not sure whether to – perhaps you are not on speaking terms, and don’t want to upset the apple cart, but something inside of you is telling you just to contact him because YOU want to, then just do it. Don’t over analyse things too much and just do it. Life is short, and if someone has an issue with hearing from you then it is their issue. No matter what has happened, every day is a new chance to start over.
3. Don’t be afraid to accept if things are not great between you.
Just as I say reach out, and don’t be afraid to, if that is what you want to do, I would also say that if your gut feeling is NOT to send a card, or be in contact then that is also okay. Know that you do not need to be put under any pressure by a day on the calender. Just because society says that we should send a card to our Fathers on this specific day, doesn’t mean that you HAVE TO.
There are 364 other days in the year too, and all just as important as this one day. You can salvage a relationship on any of those days too, so don’t make a move that doesn’t feel right for you this weekend just because you perhaps feel under pressure.
It can be lonely when you get up on a special occassion and see what feels like everybody saying HAPPY FATHER’S DAY on Facebook. You feel the loss more so than ever, and sometimes that can be a bit of a shock as you felt that you were okay with things. Don’t be too hard on yourself and just plan something awesome for YOU to do on that day and just try and stay off socal media. It’ll all be over soon, I promise.
On that note, have a great weekend, however you choose to celebrate it – if you spend time with your Dad, have a good one and if you choose not to spend time with your Dad – have a good one.
Until the next time,
Chris.
