Father's Day is supposed to celebrate our dad's and all their hard work put in raising and supporting us. Of course, it's easy to forget that some people aren't so lucky.
In fact, for those who are fatherless, Father's Day is quite the opposite of a joyous occasion, but rather a reminder of something that is missing.
For most of us, there's no need to draw attention to the intense emotions linked to a dad who is out of the picture on Father's Day.
However, we can acknowledge that this situation might be especially difficult for young children, and especially on the first Father's Day without Dad there.
So, what happens when a child missing his dad for the first time is given the task of making Father's Day crafts at school?
Recently, one young man named Jackson Lanphere gave us a heartwarming answer — when he made a 'Father's Day' craft for a very different male role model in his life.
Scroll through below to see!
Thumbnail Photo: Twitter/ Ethan Lanphere
These are the Lanphere boys. Their dad recently left the picture, and this past Father's Day was the first they would have to face without him.
Why their father left is not important — rather, what is, is that the boys have been looking out for each other.
Ethan, the eldest, tells LittleThings:
Our father’s absence has taken a toll on our family these past few months, but my brothers and my mother have always been great at being thankful for what we have, instead of being upset over what we don’t have or what we have lost.
As you can imagine, this abrupt change would be especially hard for the youngest son, Jackson, who is 9 years old.
The boys' mother, Heather Lanphere knew that Jackson might be asked to create Father's Day crafts for his dad at school.
She told him that he should not feel like he needs to participate, given the situation.
When the inevitable happened and Jackson was asked to make a Father's Day card at school, he didn't opt out like his mom gave him permission to.
Instead, Jackson wrote a "Father's Day Card" addressed to his brother Ethan, who is currently a student at Cornell University.
It reads:
Dear Ethan,
You are the person that I look up to. You have been my influence to make me a good person.
Love, Jackson
P.S. I love you
Ethan shared the heartwarming card on Twitter, and people were understandably touched by the sentiment.
There were plenty of people who admitted that the note brought tears to their eyes, and perhaps also plenty who didn't quite admit it.
Serious congratulations were in order for the obviously tight-knit family. They are handling a tough situation so well.
Ethan explains:
It’s been very cool to see my tweet about his card amass so many likes and retweets on Twitter. There’s been so much support from the Twitter community. As amazing as it all is, I am more proud of the letter itself and my brother for being very optimistic during difficult times.
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