Juneteenth

Today we are celebrating "Juneteenth "commemorating the anniversary of the announcement of the abolition of slavery in the United States. It is also known as Freedom Day or Emancipation Day (Bermuda's own Emancipation Day is held in late July). Today is also Fathers' Day and a father I know's birthday. In the weeks running up to Fathers' Day I had begun to resent the very idea. I kept receiving spam mail telling me to buy something special for "Dad". As my father passed away nearly two years ago, the emails always made me feel raw as no, he doesn't need a new watch, or cufflinks, or cologne, or whathaveyou. But then I realised that Fathers' Day is jut another chance to remember him and to celebrate the other father in my life - my stepdad, who has truly taken us in as his own and is a rock for our family. So Charlie...HAPPY FATHERS' DAY. Pictured is my family on the day my mum and stepdad got married last October. So this is to family.

Today in 1937, Peter Pan author J.M. Barrie passed away. You may wonder why, on a celebratory blog, I often celebrate the date of someone's death. This is because I believe one must celebrate a life, and that the date you die is part of that life. My father, in a speech entitled "From Butchie with Love" spoke about "the dash". Though the concept wasn't originally his, it was the first time I'd heard it. The idea is that the dash between the date you are born is your life. He said “the important part is the dash. It can be a short dash or it can be a long dash, but it must be a meaningful dash. It can be a straight dash, it can be an up-and-down dash, but it must be a real dash. It must make a mark.” So in celebration of Fathers' Day and my love for my two Dads, today's quotes are about love:

“I’m talking about love, forgiveness and humility, I want to tell you this: I am a work in progress on all of these fronts. But, love, I’ve got cornered” - Julian E.S. Hall (my dad)

"If you have love you don't need to have anything else. If you don't have it, it doesn't matter much what else you do have" - J. M. Barrie

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