Many of us have complex relationships with our Fathers and mixed emotions about holidays like Father’s Day. So facing right into the situation, I want to know where you would go if you could take your Dad anywhere.
My Dad was in the navy during WWII. He served stateside, but was always interested in world affairs in a way that everyone in that generation was. It was personal, and they had earned their viewpoints with their service and their sacrifice. Like many after the war, he was able to create a business and have a family. He would not take on debt and and saved up to pay with cash.
He got the opportunity to travel to Western Europe and never forgave our leaders for letting the Russians have Eastern Europe where his parents were born. When the wall came down in the fall of 1989, I cried that my Dad had died 4 months earlier and did not live to see this day.
If I could take my Dad anywhere, I would take him to Berlin.
Asking people this question, I heard all sorts of wonderful stories about my friends’ fathers. Then again, maybe your Father was absent, so you would take him to something he chose not to attend. In any event, honor yourself today, as well as the Dad you had. You get to choose how you carry these memories and how they affect you from now on.