Since my dad died Dec30, I have tried not to show my emotions too much because my mother had a massive heart attack a year ago. Lately, I feel so empty, get angry very easily, prone to small physical accidents and run down. All of the above is not only because the lost of my dad and mother's illness but also, because my nephew killed himself May3. Father's Day is coming and I feel a tightness in my heart. Any suggestion on how to cope with that special day and not getting too emotional so I'll not affect my mother's health? Thanks in advance for any suggestion or prayer!

Hello - I'm sorry for the pain in your heart. It takes a long, long time to heal something so big. I think I would try to do something positive on Father's Day, since there'll be an elephant in the room, so-to-speak. You'll all be thinking about it so why not make it something positive? Old photo albums to remember the good times? How about planting a tree to honor his memory? Maybe your Father had a passion about one particular cause? I think honoring his memory by giving to someone or something else would be a pretty powerful and positive thing to do.
Good luck and in the end? It's just one day - you can get through it.

I understand what you are feeling. My dad died 3/2/08 and this will be the first official father's day without him. He was pretty much gone already last year. My mom is coming to stay with us from tomorrow, Saturday through Wednesday because Tuesday the 17th would have been my parents' 64th anniversary. My husband and I didn't want her to be alone. My newlywed daughter and her husband will be here Sunday to celebrate Father's Day and my older daughter called my mom tonight and said she sounded sad. I reminded my daughter why. She wishes she could come home, but she can't with work. Daddy's 90th birthday would have been July 20th so that will be another difficult time. I feel like the firsts will be the most difficult, but I'll see soon enough.