I have a story to tell but from a completely different angle to the rest of you and it may not be received quite as well as some of yours. I hope it can be understood though.
My name is Daniel, and I consider myself a very proud father of two. I have two beautiful little girls named Ocean who’s nearly 7 and Paige who’s nearly 5. They, along with my girlfriend Shakira are my entire world. They support me in everything I do and I try to be the best man I can be for them.
As a younger man I prided myself on being a hard worker. I trained very hard as a Taekwondo athlete and focused on very little else. I was strong minded meaning nothing and no one could sway my focus. I was determined to be ‘THE MAN’! and was willing to work hard to achieve it. Looking back now I remember my focus being important to me. I was hungry for more but it’s only now that I realise the true value and reasoning behind my hard work.
I came from what can only be described as an unusual home. My family were very different to others. My upbringing wasn’t bad (in my opinion) but I think the only way to describe it is to say that I don’t know many others who shared similar childhood experiences. I do now realise that much of my drive as a young man was channeled through not wanting to repeat certain aspects of my upbringing. It’s funny to look back and see this as a man now because other young men are not usually focused on very much at all, especially when they don’t have to be.
It is in the present day that I see true purpose in having pushed myself so hard for the past 26 years. Never allowing anything to keep me down. I needed to become the best man I could possibly be for the woman I’d like to marry and my children.
I work hard for my family. I have a full-time job I go to in the mornings and teach Taekwondo in the evenings every evening. I train and compete at a high level and maintain focus on targets and goals at all time. My family are driven by my drive and I try to support them to strive to be the best at everything they do. Shakira has gone back to uni and is studying hard in midwifery whilst my little girls are getting smarter and smarter in school. They both read with me every day. They love doing their homework with me and we all go to Taekwondo training together as it has become our family business. Ocean has started competing at the lightest weight category there is (Peewee -20kg) and has won a silver and bronze medal so far. I’m so proud that I have tears in my eyes as I’m writing this.
Shakira and I put them into every activity they want (sometimes even when it’s too expensive to afford, as parents, we find a way). At 6 and 4 years old they’ve done (and still do some) taekwondo, swimming, gymnastics, ballet, horse riding, Spanish, French, Korean, piano, guitar, violin, and now both want to do some drama which we’re checking out. They love to learn new things and take in everything so well. The teachers and their teachers at school say nothing but good things about them and it makes me so proud to be their dad. All the other parents at the clubs and the schools say ‘good morning Ocean and Paige’s dad’. And I say ‘hi, good morning’. Every day I feel like the proudest man alive. I’m their dad, and I’m there with them every minute of every day trying to give them everything this world can offer.
But then Thursday comes back around!
Thursday evenings I teach my adults class and the girls must stay home. Shakira trains too so they need looking after and since he requests to see them I feel obliged to let him. I don’t want them to blame me one day for never knowing who he was. It would rip me apart if they ever hated me! So when Shakira asks I agree ‘fine by me, their dad can come and put them to bed on Thursday’.
I agree knowing he’ll break their hearts again one of these Thursdays. He’ll disappear for months on end again and then pop back up at a time more convenient to him, but I can’t stop him from hurting my angels. If I do then they’ll blame me. He has no real interest in them. He’s quite content seeing them once a week for three hours when two of those hours they’re asleep and he’s babysitting until we get back. He has no issues with missing birthdays or Christmas when it suits him. Yet he has the right to see them and the right to the most honorable title a man could achieve ‘Dad’. I’ve been a real dad to my girls since they were 3 and 1 years old and because we can’t afford to get married I’m stuck with not yet even being ‘Step-Dad’ I’m just ‘Shakira’s Boyfriend, Daniel’
By Daniel Walters
Location: UK
Twitter – @Ytgo123