Being the girl with no dad sucks every single day. I’m good at pretending that it doesn’t bother me, but Father’s Day is always tough and it’s harder to shove the feelings away.
Tomorrow, I’ll see my friends posting pictures from 2002 of their dads holding them on his shoulders and I’ll want to scream. I’ll see families hiking together and I’ll want to cry. I’ll see dads hugging their kids and I’ll wonder why I wasn’t good enough for that.
I am 20 years old and I’ve never heard my father tell me he loves me. Not once.
I used to have dreams about him. I used to make up stories about him being a superhero or a soldier or a doctor in Africa. ANYTHING to explain why he wasn’t around.
Then I grew up and I realized he left by choice. For whatever reason, he decided I wasn’t good enough to stick around for. I spent YEARS blaming myself, and I still do sometimes, but I know it wasn’t my fault.
But it all boils down to this: not all dads stay. Some leave. And when they do, it hurts. My dad left before I was born, but somehow, sometimes I miss him. I miss a man I never knew. That feeling is so confusing and hard to handle. Especially around Father’s Day.
And I want to be clear, this is not me trying to take away from Father’s Day. Celebrate your dads! Spoil them! You’re lucky to be able to.
I will probably avoid social media tomorrow. But before I go, I have one more thing to say.
To the girl with no dad on Father’s Day: I love you. Just in case you haven’t heard it. ❤️
To the girl with no dad on Father’s Day: I love you. Just in case you haven’t heard it. ❤️
