Guess what? A really important holiday happened recently, and you totally missed out.
For that matter, so did I!
Turns out, National Parents Day is celebrated annually on the fourth Sunday in July. Similar to a combination of Father’s Day and Mother’s Day, National Parents Day is a day to honor your parents, show appreciation to them and celebrate family.
And just so you know that I’m not making this stuff up, allow me to provide a bit of history here. Originally introduced through a bill by Republican Senator Trent Lott, this holiday was established in 1994 when President Bill Clinton signed a Congressional Resolution into Law (36 U.S.C. § 135) for “recognizing, uplifting, and supporting the role of parents in the rearing of children.”
Dig a little deeper (see also: Wikipedia), and we learn that the United Nations proclaimed June 1 to be the Global Day of Parents, “to appreciate all parents in all parts of the world for their selfless commitment to children and their lifelong sacrifice towards nurturing this relationship.”
Yup, in a classic American move, we decided to create our own holiday, too.
But to be honest, every day feels like National Parents Day to me! Many of you know that nearly a decade ago, I developed The Ivey as a tribute to my mother who lived with Alzheimer’s disease, and to my father who was her loving caregiver. Today, my team and I are actively caring for Moms and Dads at every conceivable stage of their dementia journeys. We are engaged in daily partnership with their grown children, working as a united front to provide Mom and Dad with the care, comfort, pleasure and dignity that they’ve more than earned.
Dementia is a whole family disease requiring whole family support and whole family unity. That sort of unity also makes way for priceless opportunities to express whole family appreciation for the parent or parents that made that family possible in the first place.
So even though National Parents Day 2015 has come and gone, I invite you to celebrate it today! Call up your parents and thank them for everything they’ve done. Or if they are no longer with us, reminisce about the good times you had with them.
I doubt anyone will call you out on being late.
To all parents out there, Happy Belated Parents Day!
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