In celebration of Father’s Day this weekend, we want to share a valuable lesson we learned last year.
This sweet face is Warrior William- he unexpectedly gained his angel wings in August 2020.
While we don’t know his family personally, we have mutual connections being a fellow special needs family in Saint Louis, MO. and these hard journeys create deep relationships forged out of understanding. Therefore, hearing of William’s passing broke our hearts.
We reached out to this family in hopes of doing something to bring a smile to their face as they were grieving the loss of William while staying strong to care for his newborn baby sister (13 days old when her superhero brother went to Heaven).
We were able to provide embroidered handkerchiefs for William’s funeral but our conversation with William’s mom, Justine, transpired a life-long lesson for us personally and as operators of a charity.
We asked if there was something we could do to assist them during this unimaginable time.
Her response: “Honestly, if you are asking, would you include something specially for Billy (William’s dad)? I have been receiving a lot of gifts of jewelry and there are not many things for dad. He was the best dad ever and I don’t want him to feel like his grief isn’t the same.”
The last line hit us hard “He was the best dad ever and I don’t want him to feel like his grief isn’t the same.”
Powerful words that created an invaluable lesson.
We were so thankful for Justine sharing her experience of mothers being the primary focus following the passing of a loved one and it was our honor to put together a special remembrance gift for Billy.
Lesson of this story: Think of dads, too. Dads don’t always need to be the strong one. Validate their sadness. Dads are wonderful caregivers, just like moms. Grief doesn’t only affect moms and we don’t want dads to think “their grief isn’t the same.”
This week, please say an extra prayer for all the Dads that are grieving the loss of a child. We are sending extra love and strength to this family as they celebrate their first Father’s Day without William.
