Happy Father's Day!

Every third Sunday of June, we celebrate Father’s Day as a day of honoring fathers and paternal bonds. This year, we have celebrated it yesterday, June 21, 2020.

During this day, we celebrate and greet our fathers who have been instrumental and vital in bringing us into this world. At the same time, we also celebrate father figures who helped shape our lives like our grandfathers, uncles and even an elder brother who stood as a father.

However, there is a type of father that I would also like to celebrate and greet on this day. A type of father that is not commonly celebrated and greeted by many but deserve as much celebration.

It was a few days before our 1st wedding anniversary, we just got back from the province and I felt different. So, I took a pregnancy test right away when we got home, and there it was - two lines. A positive and it is a lot more noticeable than the test for the “chemical pregnancy” that happened a month prior. I can still remember vividly my husband’s face and happiness when I have shown him the positive pregnancy test. We are both so happy and hopeful for our pregnancy. I took a picture of him that day, and up to this day we hold that special memory in our hearts.

The Lord has other plans though, three times in the past we got pregnant, and three times they immediately joined our Creator in heaven before they can breathe the same air we breathe. Thus, we both became Mother and Father to our “angel babies”. It is a very long story to share for today's post, however, I’m just very thankful to the Lord that he is my husband and the father of our angel babies, and our future children. He has been my source of strength and support during those challenging times despite the fact that he is also mourning and sad for our loss. However, he continued to be strong for both of us.

By tradition, we celebrate fathers who have children born into this world or who stood as father figure to children. However, let us define what is a Father? As per Merriam-Webster Dictionary, a Father is a man who has begotten a child. What is a child? A child is an unborn or recently born person. If so, why don't we celebrate fathers whose children are not in this world but are in heaven? Does fatherhood start only when a child is born or does it start when a child is conceived and confirmed by a urine test, blood test or ultrasound? If you would ask me 10 years ago, I might have answered the same as others, that a Father is someone who has a child born into this world. But having experienced it myself, I would have to say that I know better now. A child born or not, is still a child.

We would like to share this quote from “An Orphan’s Tale” by Jay Neugeboren, that says:

 

“A wife who loses a husband is called a widow.

A husband who loses a wife is called a widower.

A child who loses his parents is called an orphan.

There is no word for a parent who loses a child. That’s how awful the loss is.”

It’s sad that the only people who treat and celebrate us as fathers and mothers are ourselves, and the people who are going through the same experiences.

So, on this day/occasion, I would like to celebrate, honor and greet my husband a “Happy Father’s Day”. You are a Father. A Father who does not have our babies in our arms but has our babies in our hearts. A Father of angel babies.

And to all fathers of angel babies, a Happy Father's day as well to you! 😊