On Father's Day, Liz penned a poignant piece, titled "Fathers & other strangers." It begins: "I should be writing some big tribute to my dad. However, I did not have a father, not really in the sense that people who write odes to someone who exerted a great influence on their life did, anyway. Oh, sure, he lived in our home until he died when I was ten. But I don't remember interacting with him much and some of the stories I have heard floating around from other family members (which may or may not be true) indicate that it is in the realm of possibility that that might be a very good thing.  It's not like I have some horribly abusive memory to erase in the same way that mother's day leaves a bad taste in my mouth because of a lot of the very unloving things that my mother did in the name of "love". It's more like I draw a blank. I have no idea what it might be like to have had some male figure be there for me. More here. (AP file illustration)

Question: Are special days for parents painful for you because of loss of one or both -- or a childhood that was less than idyllic?