I remember the past few Father's Day celebrations like they all happened yesterday. All of my family gathered together, munching on chips and dips and the likes, the television humming quietly from the living room.

When I was little, I used to tell my mom that there should be a 'Kids day'.

"If we have Mother's Day and Father's Day, when is Kids Day?" I'd ask, quite seriously.

My mom would roll her eyes, laugh, and lightly say, "Kayla, EVERY day is 'Kids Day.'"

I nodded and kept quiet, not fully understanding that it was perfectly possible to celebrate someone or something, even if in a nontraditional sense.

This is the sixth year I haven't had a dad around to celebrate on Father's Day. I remember the last five passing like any other day would, but I remember the feeling of exclusion and I remember the feeling of something missing.

I'm not going to pretend that it's easy getting through the holiday like this, or give off false hope that it will get better as time passes, because it's not easy, and I know that won't change with time.

Still, I feel a certain level of gratitude to everyone else in my life who I can celebrate on Father's Day, even if celebrating them might be a bit untraditional.

No, I don't have a dad around to celebrate this Father's Day, but I have two wonderful grandfather's, a handful of super supportive uncles, and one hell of a mom.

Each of them are supportive, loving, and always there for me when I need them to be, and for that, they absolutely deserve to be thanked on more than just one day.

Father's Day is not a day that's always easy for me to enjoy, but even with the absence of my dad, I'm still going to do my best to celebrate those in my life who continue to stick around, even through the messy parts.