Honoring Parents Day – 4th Sunday of July

We all have parents, whether we knew them all our life or not.  Many stepparents or even grandparents have needed to take the place of some biological parents for different reasons.  The 4th Sunday of every July is set aside to honor our parents collectively.

This is a national recognized day, not as big as Mother’s or Father’s day, but rather a time to recognize the family structure and family ideals. For those interested in family history, this is the very special time to acknowledge our own parents, our friends’ parents and those ancestral parents which helped shape who we are today.

The official proclamation came in 1994 when President William Clinton proclaimed the fourth Sunday of every July to be National Parents Day. The tradition has continued over the years.

Use this occasion to learn more details about your parents, especially them as a couple.  Ask the questions like;  when did you two first meet?, what type of parties or celebrations were there before the wedding?’, which child was the easiest to raise and which was the more difficult?, what was the craziest activity you had to do with your child?, etc.

If you are a parent yourself, it is an opportunity to see how similar or different you have been  as a parent compare to your own mother and father. If there are any grandparents, even more of an important chance to learn from them, the problems they had as a parents and how were chores of being a parent in another era divided between the father and mother?  Write what you learn down or place on your computer. This is material you want to keep.

Mark this special day by thanking your parents.  After all, this is a lifelong job with no classes or owner’s manual to refer to for help.

Photo Above:  Nan Everhart and Harry Kershaw, my parents, both in the US military in the 1940s before they married. I created the image by blending two images together to honor them.

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