Publisher's Synopsis
Contributing Authors: LaShawn Basham, Patricia M. Blaino, Rev. Dr. Anthony Farmer, Ashley Gooden-Stewart, Barri Leiner Grant, Dr. Anita Hancock Green, Melody Hansley, Demetress Curl Harrell, Ke'Shawn Hill-Adamson, Patricia McClenon, Tracy Nudd Robertson, and Denise M. Rose.
Honorable Mentions by Carlton Carpenter, Samuel Scott, and Aaron Turner.
During my years in the death care industry, each year we planned months in advance for Mother's Day weekend events at the cemetery. Agenda items included tent locations, refreshments, carnations for mothers, staffing for extended hours, prizes for drawings, water and restroom stations, golf cart rentals, balloon releases, gravesite location procedures, traffic patterns, and so much more.
There were no planning meetings held in preparation for Father's Day, and it wasn't even considered a weekend event ... simply Father's Day. No extended hours and extra staffing was required. During one Mother's Day visit, a gentleman "jokingly" asked why we do so much for Mother's Day and give no recognition for fathers on Father's Day. I asked if we could at least have a tent with refreshments on that upcoming Father's Day, and we began a new tradition.
I think of my Dad, my hero, my best friend, and I recall a statement from my dear mother during my extreme grief after losing Daddy. She said, "Wow, I don't think you would cry this much if I died." Maybe it's the 'spoiled brat or Daddy's girl syndrome' that has always given me a soft spot for Dads.
After leaving the industry and starting my coaching business, I once partnered with a local funeral home and offered a "Dads Deserve it 2" event on Father's Day. Although minimal attendance, it was well received. The thought, however, has never left my mind that Dads Deserve it Too.
Let's honor, recognize, celebrate, and remember fathers and father figures . . . and so it is, Dads Deserve it Too, a compilation of expressions honoring the love of fathers by members of the From Grief to Gratitude Coaching Community.
