Father’s Day has always been an important celebration at the Barg household. It was the one day when we were able to officially shift the focus onto two guys who were always working so hard to make sure that everyone else in the family was the center of attention. This weekend marks the twelfth Father's Day since Gramp passed away and the twentieth since Dad’s passing. During his last few years, we would all visit Gramp in his nursing home and celebrate the holiday with him.

To Gramp, Father's Day became his second birthday of the year, which we happily went along with. What fun. We would get a cake and my nieces and Gramp would sing "Happy Birthday," then blow out the candles. He would love to share his cake with the other residents of the nursing home. The staff would be standing by throughout the party, making sure that the diabetic patients did not get too much of Gramp's generosity. 

Of course, I would rather he had been well and, instead of a nursing home visit, we were stopping by his house bringing traditional gifts such as belts and neckties. Nevertheless, somehow the fact that we were able to share laughs and kisses with Gramp throughout those terrible years will always allow Father's Day to hold a special place in my heart.

One other note about Father’s Day.  In reviewing all of the 100 celebrity cover interviews we have conducted for Today’s Caregiver magazine, I found that a great deal of these loving (and famous) family members were caring for their dads, including  Dixie Carter,  Holly Robinson Peete,  Patricia Richardson, Linda Dano, Maria Shriver and David Hyde Pierce.

Love of our dads—now that is the tie that binds us all together

 

Gary Barg
Editor-in-Chief
gary@caregiver.com