I'm getting a little more personal today because I have a feeling many of you can relate.  Especially with Father's Day behind us.

This week marks twenty-eight years since my dad passed away.

When we're young, we tend to see our parents in simple terms. They're either right or wrong. Strong or weak. Present or absent. Heroes or disappointments.

As children, that's often the only framework we have.

Then something happens.

We grow up.

We become adults ourselves.

And suddenly we begin to see things differently.

We start paying bills.

We experience heartbreak.

We navigate careers, relationships, health challenges, financial stress, and responsibilities.

We make mistakes.

We carry burdens.

We try to figure things out as we go.

And that's often when we begin to see our parents as people instead of simply parents.

I think that's one of the biggest shifts that happens as we age.

We realize they were navigating life for the first time too.

That doesn't mean every decision they made was right.

It doesn't erase hurt.

It doesn't change difficult experiences.

But it can create understanding.

Looking back now, I can see that many of the adults who raised us were carrying struggles we knew nothing about. Some were dealing with financial pressure. Some were dealing with mental health challenges. Some were carrying trauma from their own childhoods. Many were simply trying to survive while also trying to raise children who would have more opportunities than they did.

When I think about my own father, I think about that often.

I think about the struggles he faced.

I think about the things I understand now that I couldn't understand as a child.

And I think about how much grace we sometimes gain when life gives us a little more perspective.

One lesson I've learned is that healing doesn't always come from having all the answers.

Sometimes healing comes from understanding that people are human.

Flawed.

Complicated.

Trying.

The older I get, the more I realize how important mental health is. How important support systems are. How important it is to ask for help before the weight of life becomes too much to carry alone.

I also realize how much of who we become is shaped by the people who came before us.

Not just by what they did right.

But by what they struggled with.

By the lessons they taught us.

By the dreams they had for us.

By the examples they set and the ones they didn't.

Those experiences become part of our story.

For me, they became part of the woman I am today, the mother I became, and the entrepreneur behind Bodacious Bijous.

So this week, as I remember my dad, I'm also reflecting on something bigger.

Perspective.

Grace.

Growth.

And the understanding that most people are carrying more than we know.

If you've lost a parent, a father figure, or someone who helped shape your life, I hope you take a moment to remember them.

Say their name.

Tell a story.

Share a memory.

Because sometimes the most meaningful way we honor the people we've lost is by keeping their stories alive.

Jewelry may be what brings people to my corner of the internet, but stories are what connect us. Thank you for letting me share mine.

Leave a comment below and let me know what you think about this blogpost or maybe share your story.