FATHERHOOD: JOY, BAGGAGE AND JOY.

Dieko Gilbert
Aug 9, 2017 · 2 min read

I wrote this short piece almost three years ago out of the sheer excitement of fatherhood, since it is father's day today. I feel I should republish it.

Photo by Lonely Planet on Unsplash

My journey to fatherhood started late for my age, or I thought so, this assumption is not based on what the society postulates for starting a family, but according to my very own belief.

Majority of the people who roam the earth want to have a family of their own in time, truth be told, though some just see this as a bugbear- and can pass out by the mere sight of a pregnancy test strip in a store or a father cooing a baby in the park

I was raised by a single parent technically and with a sister as an only sibling so I was sure I wanted to start my family as soon as I could be responsible and cater to the needs of another human being.

We didn’t start a family right away after getting married, not because we didn’t want to but because the baby just decided not to come, causing my wife and me great anxiety. This led us to submit ourselves to batteries of a medical test, the most disconcertment of all without a speck of doubt was having to ejaculate in a sterile cup and handing it over to the lab attendant.

Our baby came almost three years into our marriage and I might one say it (baby)came better late than ever. The joy felt knew no bounds. I took to the baby instantly when I met him.

Like they always say, the best time to have the happiest moments with babies is when they are little- for they grow so fast and it is easy to miss out of the amazing milestones-like the first steps, first word -even the very first smile.

The experience so far has been so gratifying, all the sleepless nights and endless colic fit, not to mention the changing of the diaper -this by no means is pleasant to do as a choir, but I did all of this with a smile plastered on my face.

The baby has since grown into a very energetic and inquisitive toddler and has started nursery school already.

In all, this role is eternal, and it is not bad at all, I could play the role of a father forever, whatever baggage it came with is invincible to me for now.

Dieko Gilbert

Written by

Husband to 1 woman & dad to 1 child, for now, learner, broadcast journalist, a firm Godist, non-conformist, sapiosexual, kouros wearer, does amazing marinade.

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