Tag Archives: parenting

Letter to My Son

Confessions, Relationships, , , , , , ,

father son
Where do I start? I want to let you know that I love you already and I’ve never met you in my life. I think about you all the time and I wonder if you will look like me, talk like me, walk like me. You are the reason that I do everything that I do now. I refuse to have you calling someone else your mentor, your hero or your father.

I cannot wait to see you take your first steps, say your first words, and give me a hug. I will not use excuses that I do not know how to be a father stop me from loving you and being there for you. See the thing is once you come into my life, you will be my priority for the next 18 years.
I am going to teach you how to be a man of God, a strong man, and a leader. I will show you how to tie a tie, bait your own fishing hook, and throw a baseball. Even as I write this I get tears of joy in my eyes because you are so special to me. I want to give you all that I did not have, while teaching you to appreciate everything that is given to you. You will know hard work and dedication and not be the product of a microwaveable society if I have anything to do with it.

It is my duty to teach you values, and respect for your elders, even if they are wrong. You have to understand your place as a child and know your place, but if there is a problem I will handle it. Make sure that you speak with authority. Make sure you look a man in his eyes when you are talking. When you shake a man’s hand make sure you grip his hand with confidence.

I cannot wait to see you play sports for the first time, I will be right there at every game that I can possibly be at cheering you on from the stands and proudly letting everyone know that is my boy.
I want you to be better than I will ever be. So if I am tough on you at times, that is only me showing you how much I love you. This is a tough world, so I need you to be ready for everything that comes your way. You are a Prince learning to become a King, in your own right.

I will be consistent in your growth. When the time is right, we will have a talk about sex; I will explain to you that one night you are going to wake up and think you urinated on yourself but there will not be any urine there. I want you come to me and talk about it so that I can help you understand what just happened.

Even though we haven’t met yet, I know it will be something special when we do. Adrian Taylor, Jr. has a nice ring to it. Before I end this letter son, there is going to be a time when you start getting involved with young ladies and if you ever have any questions on how to treat that special young lady, just follow my example of how I treat your mother and everything will work out for you.
Love,
Adrian Taylor Sr.

A Dad and His Two Daughters go Viral

All About Men, , , ,

Can we say daddy daycare?

Meet 39-year-old Doyin Richards, the father of two kids.

He’s the owner of a blog titled “Daddy Doin’ Work,” which chronicles his adventures of being a first-time father. When his second daughter arrived back in October, the proud dad took a month off of his corporate job so that he could bond with his baby. Sounds like an awesome dad, right!!! He says of his decision to be a stay-at-home parent, “My baby girl smiles at me nonstop these days and I know it’s attributed to the one-on-one time I’m spending with her.”

This week, Doyin became an internet sensation after a photo he took in his bathroom with his babies went viral. In the flick, he’s putting in some serious work as he does one daughter’s hair while holding the other in a baby sack. He says of the photo:

One morning last week, [my wife] was running late for work and was worried that she wouldn’t be able to get [my daughter’s] hair done before I had to take her to school. I told her that she could leave and I’d handle it. She countered by saying that doing her hair requires attention and the baby would get upset if I left her alone while I played the role of stylist. Again, I told her that I’d handle it. On the way out she said, “I’ll believe it when I see it.

That’s when I put [the baby] in the Ergo, stood [my other daughter] on a stool and worked my hair magic. During the process, I thought, “There’s no way my wife will believe me if I don’t take a picture of this.” That’s when I set my camera up, put it on a 10-second timer, and took the photo you’re looking at right now. After 15 minutes of multitasking, the final result was a nice, tight ponytail for big sister and a happily sleeping baby in the carrier. Mission accomplished. I emailed the photo to her with the caption “Boom.” and we both got a good laugh out of it.

Super cute story, right!

This week, Doyin decided to repost the photo to his Facebook page, which quickly went viral, and he was bombarded with both positive and negative messages regarding the heartwarming flick.

He tells Yahoo:

The picture stirs emotion for a few reasons. The media doesn’t portray fathers as caregivers. We’re seen as bumbling fools trying to figure out parenthood, or macho men pushing their kids into the NFL. The other issue is that there’s a stereotype that black fathers are deadbeats.

Doyin also posted on his blog that although it’s a very cute pic, he was only doing what a man is supposed to do:

I have a dream that people will see a picture like this and not think it’s a big deal.

Don’t get me wrong here — it’s a very cute picture, and it’s cool when people say so. However, I start to get a little uncomfortable when people want to start planning parade routes for me because of it. Somewhere there’s a dad doing the exact same thing for his daughters. Somewhere there’s a dad who put his foot down with his boss and refused to attend an ‘urgent staff meeting’ so he could leave work early to attend his daughter’s dance recital. Somewhere there’s a single dad successfully getting his three sons ready for school.

Doyin had one last message to men who were sending him hate mail after his photo went viral:

Why don’t you put big boy shorts on and get in on the revolution of good fathers? It’s not a good look to tear down dads for doing the work your wives wished you were man enough to do on your own. If you don’t believe me, just ask your spouses. They’ll tell you.

But don’t worry. I’ll still be here whenever you’re ready to step your game up and join #TeamGrownAssMan.

What’s very interesting has been the reaction to the photo, especially the negative comments. Instead of saluting him, the comments ranged from racial to sexist… [you know because people believe we are still in the 50’s and women should care for the kids, while men should work.]

Fortunately for him, the overwhelming response has gotten Doyin a spot on The Today Show this morning as well as Katie Couric.

Salute to him for being an example of what a great father should be!

By necolebitchie.com