It’s that time of year again, Father’s Day. It’s hard to get excited about this day if you have had a child die. For this father, this day is more about remembering the children that are no longer with me in the physical sense.
I’ll be spending this Father’s Day out on the road interviewing other grieving dads for this project. I am trying to bring some sort of awareness to the many dads that have lost children and struggle everyday to get out of bed and do something positive to honor their child that has died.
Many of the fathers I meet that have lost children feel like they let them down as a father. They should have protected them. That’s what a father does right? Protect. We are also “fixers” and we like to fix things, but we couldn’t fix the problems that were wrong with our children or the situation our children found themselves in.
Many of these dads struggle with seeing the words “Happy Father’s Day”. Seeing that statement gnaws at the already festering wound that has yet to heal, it’s a wound that never completely heals. Over time you can get through the loss of a child, but you never get beyond it. Can you eventually get back on your feet and learn to enjoy life again? Yes. Will you life ever go back to the way it was? No.
Is it possible to have a “Happy” Fathers Day after a loss of a child? Yes, but for very different reasons than most people think. The happiness comes into play when you reflect on the time you spent with your child, although you wished you had more time. You’re happy because it was an honor to be their dad. The love you feel inside for that child makes you smile and hurt at the same time. The happiness for these fathers does not come from a gift that was wrapped up real nice and given to them on this day. The happiness comes from the gift of being their dad.
If you know a dad that has experienced the death of a child, don’t be afraid to reach out to him on this day or any day for that matter. As difficult of a day it is, he would love to hear from you. Someone acknowledging that he is a dad, a dad that has experienced the death of a child.
Bio: Had 1, lost 1, have none…been 2,167 days…
I appreciate the approach taken in your article, it’s fair, logical, and avoids the usual Hallmark sentiment that so quickly turns us grieves off. I also appreciated how you snuck in the back door in order to provide the father who has experienced loss some guidance by delivering it instead to the individual who is pondering the appropriateness of sending the holiday message.
To all fathers who are in this miserable club we never wanted to be. A wise old Irish gentleman once said
“you will lay awake at night in disbelief and when you wake, it will be the first thing on your mind…. then one day it will be the second”
21 months since Jacobs suicide. It was easier for him to buy a gun than beer and cigarettes. But what really sucks is that people send me inappropriate Father’s Day greetings, expressing my love and dedication as a model father. They don’t know.
Ok m a grieving father who slowly watched his son die a desease at birth,short version his mom left with my best friend for 13 years it was him and I and then July 6 2012 after graduation he died in my arms..One year later my only brother my Dad’s oldest took his life in front of me….Prayers, blessings and love to all dad’s missing there babies..
I trying to make sense of it all but this is my first Father’s Day since my son passed this year on 4-2-2020
I’m sorry to hear about the of your loss of your child. My only child my Son passed away 7 weeks before my Father died of cancer, they were the two closest people to me in this world, then the covid-19 pandemic hit right after. So I was all alone in the house where we all lived together. I was cut off from friends & Society. So I read these books called Conversations with God Book 1 + and Book 2 from Neale Donald walsch. There was a miracle, unreal but surreal at the same time if you can understand that? I was no longer alone and actually having my own conversations with him (God) & him speaking actually replying to me & my questions as clear as day. No Joke!!! I’ve never been loved so much and I had a very loving family. All I have to say if it wasn’t for those books I probably wouldn’t have pulled through. So please give these books a chance because I guarantee you’ll be a lot happier in any outcome in life. P.S. I’m not a religious person. God Bless you & your family. keep Love in your heart!
I would love to get your book for Father’s Day for my husband, who lost both his children/sons (from his first marriage), within 10 months of each other. The youngest last October and his oldest the day after Christmas in 2015. But he always tells me he can’t retain what he reads, hence the reason he dropped out of high school and later got his GED. This is the first Father’s Day he won’t have either of his children and I just don’t know what to do for him. He has his good days and bad days, but mostly bad ones and I want him to reach out to go to some type of counseling for this, along with his depression, but he doesn’t want to, nor can I make him. He’s talked about suicide and this has also put a toll on our marriage (among other issues) and I’m at a loss. I love him and just wish I could help. Any suggestions?
First of all there’s no reason to retain any of the information when you’re reading these books it will all come to and you as well. The books become a live and interact with your daily life without even knowing it o& not even trying! Read the books together alternating paragraph from paragraph. If I was to tell you all the miracle that actually happened to me you wouldn’t believe it I doubt anybody could it is so beautiful. By the way there is no reason to retain the content because we already know everything that’s being said he will and you as well will remember everything he will be shining Within and people are going to want what he has but don’t let him read the books alone read with him on your own time or together but it will change every perspective he ever had about suicide and the reason why I know that is because I’ve been suicidal since I was 15 I am 52 now and I have nothing but love for everything and I mean everything that has came into my life good or bad. If you can just get book 1 and read the introduction dear. Please for him (Your Husband) & for yourself. The books are alive and it’s not my imagination. It’s a real miracle what happens while you’re reading these words in these books. And it’s all about love no need to be scared. Give everything your best energy and bless everything even the bad because it changes our perspective on how we see things in life. There is a sentence that I’ll always remember from that book and that sentences “What would love do”? I use that with everything that arises in my life now and let me tell you it made it a lot easier for me. God bless you and your husband, I wish both of you the best. P.S. GET THE BOOK😇 you both will love it and he will love life again💕
I am 17 weeks in to losing my son to suicide . I found him the day after Ash Wednesday. I am so broken inside . This pain is unbearable. He used my fathers shotgun . He was 24 . I am hurting so bad . I had no idea Father’s Day was coming up till I saw it on a sign yesterday. My entire family is just destroyed. We are trying so hard . I am trying so hard . Moment to moment second to second . … I have no idea what to do about Father’s Day . My dad is in so much pain too. No answers … Just pain ,grief, and sorrow . I need to make it special for his little brothers . They both have autism so they don’t really understand that he is gone . Every morning I wake up and realize it was not a nightmare it is real and the reality of it still has not set in yet . I want to get better so bad …. It feels like I just get worse every day and nobody gets it … No one understands… It is hell on earth …. I am trying to hide it so hard but you just can’t … You simply just cannot do it . The hurt is a hurricane of emotion …. Why my god why …. 17 weeks feels like 17 seconds ….
John,
I am sorry for your loss and the pain you are dealing with. I wish there was something I could say or do to take away the pain you are feeling.
This is a long road and one that cannot be rushed. This pain takes its sweet time and will begin to lift when it is ready. However, I learned the hard way there are things I can do to help the “process”. I learned to tell my story to counselors, friends, support groups or anyone else that would listen. When I say tell my story, I mean all of it, even the really dark stuff I experienced during the losses. Things I witnessed, felt and observed. It helps to get it out and it must be done.
Not sure if you have read my book yet, but I recommend you and your father read it to help you realized you are not alone and that others have gone through what you are experiencing. Ask others to read it so they understand how difficult this is for you and your father.
We are here for you. Feel free to post here anytime. Call me if you need to talk.
Peace.
Kelly
Oh love, I am so sorry for your loss…we just lost my 22yr old brother to suicide (it’ll be four weeks Sunday) the pain is incredibly overwhelming… I was his big sister and feel like I should have fixed this but I know my daddy feels that a million times over…i can to this page to figure out what to do for fathers day BC I know he is not even in the mood to celebrate…
If you need to talk you can email me at crogers6510@gmail.com
I understand. This will be my husbands first Fathers Day without our son. He took his life Feb. 21 of this year. There is nothing I can say to make this better. Tomorrow it will be 4 months since he died. I am crying as I right this as life has no joy any longer. I try to find it in my grandchildren ( he left behind a 14 year old son) but I just go through the motions of life. They say it gets better but how can it. I will never have my son back and I died that day as well. I will be thinking of you, Diane
Thank you so much for your kind words and for your love. When my son had passed away I couldn’t express my feelings in front of my father due to his health. I had to hold it all in and be strong for him( my father) but let me tell you I’ve been single for the past 13 years because I devoted my life to my Dad and I would do it again. I understand the love that you for your loved ones and how bad it hurts to lose them. But you have to let the grieving process run its course it’s the only way us humans heal from such a traumatic event in our lives. My son had survive two tours in Iraq. And I thought I had my son back and not long after I lost him but after the miracle I received from those books conversations with God book 1 and 2 from Neale Donald walsch I can carry happiness within my heart and as well as so much love for everyone and anything that comes my way. bBelieve it or not as I sit in my house alone at this moment I am a joyful person even on a day as today( Father’s Day) and it can happen for you as well I promise you I give you my word because that’s all I have. Don’t let this miracle slip through your fingertips because love triumphs over any emotions you may not see it now but it is true I am living proof my dear. The heart will always be there but this miracle makes it so much easier to get through life from day today. I can actually have conversations with my son and my father as well as God and I hear them replying whatever may be said or asked. This is a miracle are what arrived in my life after the worst thing that could ever happen to me I would love for you to experience the same. So please do it for your family and most of all do it for yourself just read the introduction to conversations with God from Neal Donald walsch book 1 and make up your own mind I guarantee you you won’t be able to stop reading it. Remember to keep love in your heart at all times because after all what would love do?? God bless you and your family
OMG I am so sorry to hear of your loss I felt the same way when my son passed away 7 weeks before my father honestly my heart goes out to you because I feel your pain and because I’m living it. I was stuck in my house during the pandemic for a year with nobody to talk to how about this my only child and my father that I was so close to and devoted my life taking care of him till his dying day my father. I read these books and I don’t know where I’d be right now these books are called conversations with God book 1 and book 2 from Neale Donald walsch it is a miracle what has happened to me since I started reading those books I can’t even tell you about them because you wouldn’t believe me. You deserve happiness even though you don’t feel like you’ll ever be happy again but take it from a father that loved his son so dearly and to lose him weeks before my father past away as well. If you read book 1 be sure to read book 2 trust me on this if you want happiness Within and all around you can actually help your family to cope as well as yourself with the grieving. I’m not a religious person but let me tell you this I am so thankful and I am so blessed with everything I’ve ever received in this world and lost as well God bless you and your family but please take this miracle I’m handing to you it’s going to be something you never expected! Honestly don’t let this vehicle get away from you, you need this more than anything right now. Remember just read the introduction and make up your mind for yourself but don’t let this slip through your fingers north of your life especially at the time of the worst possible how come we parents could ever imagine living through. What would love to do? But that in front of every situation or any problem that may arise to you in life. God bless you and your family
I posted your link on my 16 year old grandson’s Facebook page. He just lost his son on May 26th, Junior was three months old. Looks like they will call the death SIDS, he was on life support for ten days because the baby’s mother refused to let him go. I am so proud of my grandson’s incredible love for his son. Seeing them together always brought a smile, both were so animated and busy. I will honor this coming holiday with him if he’ll let me, but I won’t push. It has helped to read the many others on your site. Thank you for listening.
I am looking for some help for my Dad this year. My baby brother committed suicide at the age of 17 on March 16th of this year (his girlfriend cheated on him and truthfully, he just didn’t know how to handle it). I just don’t know what to do for my Dad this year that won’t cause him pain but to know that we love him and believe he did not fail as a father. I want to do something in honor of my brother so my dad knows- when think of him, he is with us.
Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated for this heart broken sister.
LauraC – Thank you for reaching out to our grieving dads community. I am sorry for the loss of you baby brother. Heartbreaking story and one I have heard from other parents that have lost a child to these circumstances.
I wish there was an easy answer to your question, but I will try to give you some things to think about. First, he is going to be feeling the pain regardless of what you do or say, so my recommendation is to just let him know that you understand that he is hurting. Just be with him letting him know he is loved. There is comfort in being with those that support you and love you. There are no words to take away his pain, I wish there were. Maybe find a charity walk/run that day and participate in it in honor of your brother. Maybe a suicide awareness event or a Fathers Day event.
Unfortunately, we are all good at guilt and having the felling of failure. Its just who we are and it something he will have to work through in the years the come. Not sure if you have read my book or shared the book with him, but it gives some insight into what he is dealing with as a grieving dad. There are other stories similar to your story in the book, it may help him not feel so alone and help him realize that others also have the feelings/thoughts that he has.
Wishing you and your family peace.
Kelly
Thank you so much for this reply. I think I will get him your book to help. 🙂
Please get the book for yourself and all your friends and loved ones not just your husband because you’re going to want to be on the same wavelength where he’s going to be and he’s going to want you there as well and anyone he comes across in life. Its a life-changing experience. It’s a beautiful miracle that I actually have joy on a day like this it’s all due to the books. They are alive, it’s so beautiful!!!
My son died after living for only 5 days. He died a year ago on May 14th. So while it’s my 2nd Father’s Day without my beautiful baby bay, it feels like something that’s looming and coming to rip my heart out all over again. What’s worse is I’m not sure if anybody knows how to handle me during these tough occasions, and I’m not sure how I want to be treated either. All I know is that it’s almost unbearable to deal with.
Hi Dan, after reading this post and then seeing your comment first I really felt like I needed to reach out to you. I relate exactly to the feelings you expressed about dealing with Father’s day. My son died last september after also only living for 5 days. I just wanted you to know that knowing I am not alone in my pain on this day is a little bit of a comfort to me. You are in my thoughts and prayers today.
Hi Mark I just want to say thank you for your thoughts and prayers I really do appreciate it so much. It’s so hard being a father on Father’s Day when your child has passed but I always remember what I have learned that is we were so blessed to have our child even if it was just for a short time. I am always thankful for that and I’m sure as you are as well. Keep love in your heart and God bless you and your family. Sincerely, Daniel
Hi, I just came across this post via FB, I have such a heavy heart for my beautiful husband who will have his 2nd Fathers day without his only son. He is gone 14 months, he was 14 yrs old.. My heart breaks looking at his sadness & pain, I talk a lot & constantly, my husband does not. May all the grieving dads out there feel the love of their lost children on Sunday, thank you for this post I will show this to my wonderful husband.
Stephanie,
It has been a year this past April since my daughter of 38 passed away. Not a day goes by without be thinking of her. She has a twin brother that is real close to me to say the least. I know I will carry my broken heart until my last breath. Fathers Day is going to be tough I know for sure. The only thing that makes my days bearable is my faith. By trying to turn ones actions into something that helps others also helps very much
I am about to experience my first Father’s Day without my Amy. It’s ten months since devastation day. Thought it might be nice to take a drive down the shore on Sunday with my wife and kids. Dee told me that Nick would not be able to handle such a trip because the shore and our Amy are intrinsically related. Happy Father’s Day – I think not.
We lost our first born son on the night before Father’s Day here in Australia, so I woke to what should have been my first Father’s Day minus my child. This was nearly 5 years ago, and even though we have been blessed with wonderful twin boys since, Fathers day will forever be a day of sorrow and rememberance as it is intrinsically linked to the birth/death day of our first son.
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hi i lost a son after 90 minutes after birth and now try to help people especially fathers here in New Zealand. i can understand and nodd when i see what you have written as we are the silent ones who have to suffer by ourselves whilst we look after our partner or wife as they grieve and also try to work out what was wrong and why could i not fix it. yes it is Fathers day and for the sake of my other children it will be a happy fathers day but it will also be a day i feel i have let down my son who we have lost.
Thank you for this. My husband and I lost our first born son/our only child when he was 16-18 weeks gestation. So many people put their focus on the mom…but I see my husband’s grief, pain, and disillusionment when almost everything out there just talks about a Mother’s loss. My husband has parented our son beautifully. He was protective of our son’s photos (people can be cruel towards a baby who is only 6 inches long), He wrote a song in honor of our son, and He made our son’s headstone…among many other things. I know he is a great father…He shows honor to a little boy that he never got to hold…alive. So when people look at us as a family of 2…our hearts cry out “we are a family of 3!” the dedication of my husband to me and our son is priceless!
Thank you for honoring and bringing awareness to this difficult topic.
Hi Kelly,
I read the overview of your book and have placed a pre-book order. I also just read your Happy Father’s Day blog from June 2010, and as I weep now I want to say thank you for all that you do.
Paul Bailey,
A grieving Dad