Father’s Day is this Sunday! We at IIN hope you have plans to spend a wonderful day celebrating dads everywhere. We tapped our community to share memories of their fathers, and we got an overwhelming response of heartwarming – and some sorrowful – stories.

Relationships – especially with family – are often the foundation of our lives, but they’re definitely not always easy, and sometimes downright challenging and frustrating. 

No matter what your situation, authenticity in relationships is very important. When you’re honest about your feelings and needs, you can be much happier and healthier, rather than following the system that’s prescribed and that often doesn’t work for everyone. 

Whether your relationship with your dad was easy breezy or one of your biggest challenges, we want to hear from you in the comments. Get inspired to share by reading these memories from some IIN students and graduates. We hope you enjoy them as much as we did. 

Jacquelyn

On warm summer days my father used to bring us over to a beach close to our house and we would play in the water. He would teach us and challenge us to swim out to the doc, and then after we went swimming we would sit on the beach in the sand.

Then he would bring us out into this green, grassy area and we could throw a frisbee back and forth, back and forth, and it was so fun to spend the day together. 

Next we would walk down the sidewalk, and it was very close to all these large yacht boats, and there was an old Pizza Hut restaurant where you could go to the buffet and get the slice you wanted. To this day, that city, that area, that beach is still my happy place. 

Barbara

Making strawberry ice cream from scratch with an old hand-crank ice cream maker! 

Leylani

My dad passed away three years ago, but one of my favorite memories is on weekends, my dad and I would go exploring and feed the animals on his farm, and he would give me piggyback rides. He would also teach me things about his business. He was a very supportive father – I miss him. 

Barbara

I have a lot of great memories of my Dad! He would always let me “curl” his hair with tissue paper rollers I would create while we watched TV.  He was such a good sport about it. 

He would take my siblings and I on our boat in the summer and afterwards to Carvel for ice cream. We would all sit on the sidewalk and eat it together before going home. 

He is always looking on the bright side of things. I love him to pieces. 

Jim

My dad passed away on Thanksgiving Day in 1959 when I was seven years old. He was very sick and spent much of his last nine months in the hospital. About a week before he passed he got to come home for a few days and he and I found ourselves alone one evening. 

I recall laying across his lap as he caressed my face and arms very lovingly. He spoke softly (I cannot recall his words) about my life ahead and such, I believe. I later learned that he knew he was about to die. 

Liza

My favorite memory of my Dad is Saturdays when he was off from work and would get a backpack full of food and cooking utensils and take my sister and I hiking. 

We would leave at 6am and he would fix breakfast and lunch for us and we would get back home maybe by 2pm. For a long time I thought he was doing that to spend time with us (which I'm sure he was), but the main reason was to let my mom sleep in and rest without having to take care of us. 

He would work 60-70 hour weeks if not more and then would work some more during the weekend to help my mom. I'm proud to say that I've inherited his work ethic. He will be 70 this December and he's still working as an International Field Service Engineer. 

Pam

My absolute favorite memory of my dad is traveling to Austria and hiking up in the alps. We got caught in a bad rainstorm and practically slid all the way down the mountain. 

I was wearing my Dirndl and he was wearing his Lederhosen – very Austrian.

That was 47 years ago. My dad will be 95 this August. I have fond memories of traveling in the summers, playing Hearts, swimming in pools, lakes, and the ocean. We loved to watch Get Smart, Carol Burnett, and Mission Impossible on Saturday evenings. My dad and I are very close. I wish I could reverse his aging. 

He does eat more blueberries and walnuts and he has never been sick one day in his life, except now he is starting to have serious memory issues. I treasure all moments with him. 

Darlene

I didn't get to live with my dad, and then he died when I was 11 – a great loss to me because it was apparent he adored me, which is something that’s sustained me throughout my life.

One thing I do remember, though, is that he would come to my foster home and pick me up every Easter and take me to Robert Halls in Buffalo, NY, and outfit me in frilly little underwear, socks, a gorgeous slip, dress, hat, and a short coat called a topper.

The final glory was a little fur muff and purse. On Valentine's Day he got me the BIGGEST, most beautiful card and a heart box of chocolates with a doll on top.

My life would have been very different had my dad lived, but to honor him I took his name with my married name. Since I am his only child, I try to live in a way I think would make him proud. 

Kaitlyn

We used to go camping at the beach and my father would go spear fishing and come in with his fish and say, "Look what I caught for you!" He cooked it on the grill with all kinds of veggies. It made me feel so special and it was delicious! 

Did these stories IINspire you? Make you think about your relationship with your father? How can you bring more authenticity and love into your relationships? 

Share your favorite memory with your father in the comments below. Get social! Share this with your friends on Facebook and Twitter!