11 July 2008
Man of The Week: My Daddy
Posted by
Shieka
under:
Man of the Week .
While most people I knew who grew up in a single parent household lived with a mother, I lived with my daddy. Most people are amazed that my father was a single parent for most of my childhood. My earliest memories of my daddy were of him in his bell-bottom pants, fitted shirts, and of course an afro. My most found memory I have of him is when I was three years old. Most people don’t think you can remember things from that age, but I do. That’s how much of an influence my father had and continues to have in my life.
I remember what happened like it was yesterday. My Aunt invited my brother and me to the zoo and told us to make sure we were ready when she called for us. Of course I was the youngest (and a princess) and didn’t think those words applied to me. When my Aunt called for us, I wasn’t ready and of course, she left me! I ran inside to get my sandals and started crying because I couldn’t get them on my feet fast enough. It was too late…they left me. As I sat on the veranda in tears trying to get my sandals on my feet, my father came outside to find out why I was crying. “Daddy Auntie Chubby left me.” He asked me if I was ready when she called for me. Through the tears I managed to mumble the word no. He started to scold me then soon realized it wouldn’t make a difference. He wiped the tears from my eyes and put my sandals on my feet, took my tiny hand and led me inside.
We eventually made our way back outside. He made that day into Daddy & Daughter Day. We went shopping and he allowed me to eat all the BAD little treats. When I got home my brother was there and asked where we were all day. I being a princess said, “HA, I was with Daddy all day long!” That really made my brother jealous. To this day neither my father nor brother remembers what happened that day, I sure do.
That’s one of many stories I have of my daddy. The greatest story ever is the one my Aunt told me about why my daddy raised all his children. My grandparents left my father in the care of his grandparents when he was only three years old. They never came back from him. He vowed if he ever had children, he would never leave them and he never did.
I’m forever grateful to my daddy for raising my siblings and me. Without my father, I’m not sure where I would be today. ALL of my success is a direct result of my father and because of that, I would like my husband and my son to be just like my daddy…
Mr. Derick Anglin you are the man of the week…
6 Comments so far...
Yesha
Says:
11 July 2008 at 11:34 am.
Awww, your father sounds great! And he definitely raised an amazing daughter!
[Reply]
Catch
Says:
11 July 2008 at 11:36 am.
Considering your view on not dating black men exclusively (I learned this via your comments on another site), I am surprised to learn that you were raised by a black man. Interesting. I must use this as a topic of discussion with friends.
(Disregard my comment if your father is not a black man.)
[Reply]
Yesha Reply:
July 11th, 2008 at 9:07 pm
I’m not sure why that is so surprising. Maybe, quite possibly, her father taught her that everyone has options and the freedoms to date who they want to date? I’m also sure that, just b/c her father is a black man, doesn’t mean that she has to have exclusivity to black man. Maybe she hasn’t met the ‘black’ man or any man for that matter who is supposed to treat her, the way her father taught her a man is supposed to treat a woman?
[Reply]
Yashieka Reply:
July 12th, 2008 at 4:09 pm
Well written Yesha.
“I would like my husband and my son to be just like my daddy.” The man that sacrificed his dreams for his children. The man that pushed me when I needed to be pushed. The man that kept me and continues to keep me in line. With that sad, NO man, Black, Caucasian, Asian, or Latino has come close to treating me the way my father taught me I should be treated.
I can say Black, Caucasian, Asian, or Latino because my father raised me to look at the “MAN” and how he treats me, rather than the color of his skin.
[Reply]
nunya
Says:
12 July 2008 at 9:02 am.
my parents divorced when i was around 2… and i remember the day that my mom left… so i believe you when you say you remember being 3… hell i remember lookin thru the bars of my crib!
i too was raised in a single parent home. Strangely enough… that single parent was also my father. he fought for custody of my brother and i during the divorce and he won… which was practicall unheard of back then… but my mom DID leave her children when she could have taken us with her… so that seemed to work in my fahers favour in the courts. my mother never payed a penny in child support, my father took care of everything all on his own. She has always been in our (my bro & my) lives though… its not like she ran out and we never saw her again… just so you know!
my father was the best dad goin and he LOVED his babies!!!
i was in gymnastics , he never missed a session, and he would stand on the side lines and watch me tumble and flip and handstand, all the while flashing smiles at me every time i looked at him for approval!
My brother was in hockey, so my father coached the team.
I would go jogging with him and when i got tired… he lifted my tiny body up and would run with me bumping on his shoulders while i sang to him.
i remember my freinds mothers talking about him when we had class field trips in school… and i distinctly remember one of them mentioning the word “saint”.
when i got pregnant at 15 he stood by me, and didnt ask any questions. he was ALWAYS there … he is STILL there:) and everyone should be so fortunate to have a father like the ones we have had i think!
*on a side note*
~for some reason im pickin up that you are of west indian decent? my husband and many of our friends are aswell… and for some reason it seems to be acceptable to leave your children with your parents on many of these islands… as many of our friends had similar abandonments to your fathers.
one of our friends said that his grandmother had all of his cousins and everything… and that she made them beds out of piles of old clothes on the floor with a sheet thrown over top of them… and she made him into a good man. He LOVES his daughter…. and has told me he would never leave her for anything… your post makes me think of him:)
when his grandmother died… he payed for her burial… and THAT made him feel proud to be able to do that for her because she was the guiding force in his life and she had done SO MUCH for him.
my husband has another friend who came to canada and left all of his kids with their mother… she left them with her mother to chase him to canada… and now they are here (he and his gf) makin new babies and have left the others behind for their mothers to take care of (they DO send stuff back home for them regularly, however STUFF doesnt replace having your mom and dad around)! personally… i think thats terrible… but you cannot tell people how to live… and they live 5 hours away so we never see them anyways… im not the type of person who can easily hold her tongue when i see injustice!
THANK GOD SOME OF US KNOW WHAT A GOOD MAN AND FATHER IS SUPPOSED TO BE LIKE!!!
[Reply]
Yashieka Reply:
July 12th, 2008 at 8:49 am
My daddy is the bomb!
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