Yesterday while having a conversation with a friend via one
of the many social media I’m actively on, a question was asked to me that I
thought I had answered to myself a while ago. “Triston, are you ready to be a
dad?” And though I had thought about this many times on my own (answer being
yes), the context and flow of the conversation made me requisitioned myself.
Being a dad is not a volunteering service which you can
decide to no longer do, or an online magazine which you can unsubscribe
to. This job is a lifetime one which
does not have retirement or vacation days. Damn…thinking about it, nor do it
have casual days! You being sick, has nothing to do with him or her. Being a dad requires your lifestyle to
change, you no longer living for you alone, but for that little boy or girl
that constantly watching you when you’re not even watching.
Being a dad means you no longer have Saturdays for yourself,
nor Wednesday, Thursday, Friday or a calendar. Walking around the house naked is
a thing of the past, the spontaneous beers run when you already at home may got
to go, because chances are you doing a project using clay dough.
Is this why? Is this why a lot of fathers don’t man up to
their responsibilities and chicken out? When the novelty of the big belly wares
off, and the reality of a crying baby kicks in they decide to run out?
Don’t get me wrong, being a father is not a
death sentence, nor does it mean your life have to completely turn around. All
it means is that you no longer live for you alone, but you and a younger one.
Which do you believe is more healthy for a child, a
part-time dad (visits seasonal, Christmas, birthdays etc.) or a totally absent
dad?
