Lurking behind the joy of father’s day there can be sadness, grieving, mourning or perhaps anger for a father no longer present for a man.

Or a grandfather. Or a great-grandfather.

Maybe all of those – sadness, grieving, mourning and anger.

Emotions can roil on father’s day for so many men, especially those who are fathers.

Loss.

My father died some three years ago and I miss him.

It is strange to go, automatically, to call my Dad and come up short realizing that he is no longer there to answer my call. And this was not the first time.

Of course, there is the joy of remembering the 67 years that Dad was there to answer.

Death comes to us all, so it is always good, in the midst of sadness, to remember the life and the living that came before his death.

And of course, the joy of my being a father, now, in this moment.

Richard E Ward

June 18, 2018
Montreal, Quebec