This photo says it all. It is courtesy of a person that does not know me or my family. She stopped at the memorial to place the candles. To look at this and not see its beauty would be a lie. To look at this and not know the devastation would be understandable. I look at this and it brings me so much sadness, yet the beauty of it is comforting in some small way.
In about 30 minutes, I begin my first Father’s Day without the one child who made me a father. I have decided that I will go visit Jaidon at his final resting spot. I need him tomorrow. There will be lots of tears. There will be so much sadness. There will also be joy. There will be joy because he is already making a difference. This will never be the end of Jaidon or Camille’s journeys to me. This is just the spot where their lives tragically ended and a new purpose for them began. I hold true to the words that I will never let their deaths be in vain and no one will forget them, as long as I am alive.
So, Happy Father’s Day to all of you dads out there. Be thankful that you get to hear arguing, fighting, laughing, crying, and any other annoying thing. It can all be gone in an instant. Hug tighter, hug longer, tell them you love them.