Em
I just read an article about how a father became more focused since having his daughter. It made me think about my own daughter and the life that she leads.
When she was a year old her mother left, and didn’t look back. I eventually filed for divorce claiming abandonment. I raised my daughter on my own. From her first breath, I was there. When they asked to place her on her mothers chest, her mother refused. So my heartbeat was the first she heard outside of the womb.
My daughter and I have a unique relationship. I never imposed my sense of values on her. I gave her choices and I demonstrated what I thought to be the best father/mother I could be. To this day she claims that I’m the wisest man she knows. Someday that might change, for now I accept it.
I was there throughout her many ups and downs. I raised her to be the best person she could be, and my daughter second. Now she’s a double major in college going to school full-time and working full-time. She keeps an A-B average. She has excellent professors and keeps up on student life. I couldn’t be more proud.
She learned from my example, not my preaching at her. I didn’t impose my sense of order on her life, I gave her choices and empowered her to make them. I never told her that she was wrong for feeling the way she does. I simply encouraged her to do the best that she could. I praised her for her efforts, even when she felt she didn’t measure up. In return she has always exceeded my expectations.
As far as children are concerned, I am blessed to be her father. We go out once a month for lunch to chat. We text throughout the week to see where each of us are going. She has my medical power of attorney.
I’ve remarried my high school sweetheart and we have a wonderful life. I gained two sons, one of whom still lives at home. I still go back to my daughter’s childhood and all the things I wish I could have given her. To hear her tell it, I gave her everything she needed. In return, she gave me what I needed, a life worth living.
