National Parents’ Day - An American Holiday

By Larry Dawalt, M. Div., BCC, Senior Director of Spiritual & Grief Care Services

In 1994, Congress unanimously passed “The Parents’ Day Resolution” establishing the fourth Sunday of July as a perennial day of commemoration. On this day each year, various communities host formal gatherings to recognize outstanding parents, celebrate the teamwork in raising children, and support the role of parental guidance in building a strong, stable society.

So this weekend, at Hospice & Palliative Care Charlotte Region, we want to honor all parents - and say thank you. First, we say thank you to our own parents for their support, care, and concern over the years. But we also want to thank the parents we do not know as well, but still admire.

• Thank you to every parent that has made sacrifices to take care of sick children, especially those who are sometimes up all night to comfort their dear ones.

• Thank you to those parents who have lost their children to disease or sudden death. We extend our sympathy to you and genuinely thank you for your courage to go on.

• Thank you to the parents who are taking care of their own parents these days, rearranging their own lives, traveling extra miles, scheduling medical appointments, and doing a myriad of necessary things to make sure their parents have what they need.

• Thank you to the parents who work extra jobs just to make ends meet.

• Thank you to the parents who serve in our armed forces to protect our freedoms at home and abroad.

• Thank you to the parents who serve as police officers and others who are first responders.

• Thank you to the parents who go it alone.

• Thank you to all those who help parent our children who are not their biological parents.

• Thank you to the childcare workers and teachers who care for, educate and mentor our children.

• Thank you to the parents of four-legged children, especially those who rescued a homeless animal.

Whether it be your own parents, your children who are parents, or a neighbor or other acquaintance, thank a parent and let them know how much they are appreciated. In many ways, we wouldn’t be here without them!