Happy Father’s Day

[Silence Dogood]

To all the dads here, I hope you enjoy the day and get to spend it with those you love. And I hope you get to play some guitar, and eat your favorite food, and just enjoy life. 

[Queequeg]

I had a complicated relationship with my father. I know I'm not alone in that regard.
He's been gone a long time now.
If your dad is still living, give him a call today or pay him a visit if you can.

[Silence Dogood]

I had a complicated relationship with my father. I know I'm not alone in that regard.
He's been gone a long time now.
If your dad is still living, give him a call today or pay him a visit if you can.

I'll second calling your dad if you still have him.  Mine is gone and I still miss him like crazy. 

Your post reminds me how Father's Day can kick up a lot of complicated dust.   Mother's Day doesn't do that nearly as much, but the relationship we have with our dads is much more complex somehow. 

I heard a friend talking recently about an email he got from Etsy (I think) and it had the option of "opting out" of Father's Day-related emails due to the hurt feelings the holiday can bring on.  I thought that was pretty shocking, but it's a real thing.

[StringPicker6]

I remember being very angry and jealous the first year after my father died. It's been 11 years now, and it's still a hard day.

[Silence Dogood]

All very personal stuff and often hard to talk about or articulate for men.  Grief is a strange thing.  When my father died it barely affected me at all, but then years later the loss crashed in on me like a flood and almost overwhelmed me.  We don't understand ourselves very well.  Reminds me of a quote from Chesterton: "The self is more distant than any star."