This past Thursday marked the first ThanksgivingMeghan McCainhas celebrated without her beloved father,John McCain, who died of brain cancer in August at the age of 81.
At the top of Monday’s episode ofThe View, Meghan, 34, shared a supportive message to everyone out there who, like her, is going through a difficult time right now — and let her viewers know that it’s okay to let yourself experience your true emotions during the holidays, even if it means being sad.
“For those of you who aren’t having great holidays, it’s okay to be in your truth,” she said. “I’m not having great holidays. Everyone knows what’s happened in my life, everyone knows what’s happening.
“I think sometimes you watch daytime talk shows and everything is bubbly and beautiful,” she remarked, adding that no matter what you see on television — or on social media — you’re not obligated to put on a happy face.
Continuing, she said, “If you’re having a bad holiday season, right here, I’m with you. Okay? Sometimes it’s hard, and it’s really hard with social media that everyone looks like they’re having a perfect holiday. And for those of us who aren’t, it’s okay.”
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“Thank you @MeghanMcCain . My holidays are hard right now. I miss my daddy,”wroteone social media user.
Another Twitter user thanked the television personality for “encouraging others” to not feel like they have to put on a happy face during the holiday season.
Meghan had previously opened up about processing her grief on Thanksgiving, sharing on social media that it was her father’s “favorite holiday.”
“Today is your favorite holiday,” she wrote onInstagram. “Happy Thanksgiving Dad, wherever you are.”
“I miss you terribly,” she continued. “And to everyone else who this holiday is hard for – you are not alone, I am thinking of all of you.”
In the accompanying slideshow of casual snapshots, the latewar heroandpoliticianis seen preparing a turkey in a vat, grinning next to a feast of food and reading the newspaper on a deck.
The late senator took a hands-on approach to the holiday. In 2016, he posted a photo of himself onFacebookin which he donned oven mitts to handle a turkey.
“It’s not #Thanksgiving at our family’s house without fried turkey!” he captioned the picture. “Happy Thanksgiving to all!”
On the late senator’s final Thanksgiving, in 2017, just days after his daughtertied the knotwithBen Domenech, hewas wrapped up in deep-frying seven turkeys.
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Since her father’s passing, Meghan has been open about her sorrow and how she is healing.
On Oct. 29, in response to another message about why she continued to discuss how much she missed her father,Meghan wrote on Twitter, “There are many of us who are in grief … But it makes me feel less alone and hopefully others less alone to share the grief process that is still so taboo to some.”
Earlier in November,marking 84 days since her father’s death, she said onInstagram, “I want to tell you about everything and get your opinion on everything – just like we used to do. I don’t know how you go from talking to someone seven times a day to never.
“It is still so indescribably surreal to go through the motions of life without sharing all of it with you – like some awful parallel universe I fell into,” Meghan added. “The pain of missing you and the grief that comes with it continues to be sharp and primal.”
source: people.com
