Guest Post: The Most Important Job

This week’s post comes from a good friend of mine,  and famous Daddy blogger, Doyin at Daddy Doin’ Work. I asked Doyin to share  what being a father means to him and how he feels when he hears about all the terrible deadbeat Dads out there.  In the past two years, I have seen the worst when it comes to Dads.  Doyin, however, is a great example of what a father should look like.  It is refreshing to read the raw emotion that comes through when he writes about his child.  Thank you Doyin for bringing light and hope to fatherhood.  I hope you all enjoy his words as much as I did.

 

The Most Important Job

Rewind to December 2009. I was a happy guy, my wife was 11 weeks pregnant, and I was going to be a dad for the first time. Words couldn’t describe how pumped I was to be a father. In June of 2010 (ironically, the due date was a day before Father’s Day) I was going to meet the baby boy or girl that I was already completely in love with…and then my world came crashing down.

Three days prior to Christmas 2009, my wife and I lost our baby.

I understand that bad things can happen during the first trimester, but that didn’t ease our devastation. I put on a brave face for my wife by saying everything will be OK, and I told my inner circle that we’ll dust ourselves off and try again – but privately I was a mess. I didn’t eat, I lost a lot of weight, and spent a lot of my private moments in tears. I knew I had to move forward, but I didn’t know how. I would hear stories of deadbeat dads, lazy dads, and dads who frankly don’t give a shit about anyone but themselves – and I would become enraged. How the hell could someone father a child and not want to be involved in their lives? I’d give up anything to raise a baby. That’s all I wanted. I’m far from the most religious guy you’ll come across, but I promised God that if we were lucky enough to have a child – I would be the best dad I could be for my baby, if I could just get the chance. All I wanted was a chance.

After what seemed like the longest wait ever, I finally became a father to a beautiful baby girl in January 2011.

When I held my baby for the first time, I felt a rush of emotion that I will never forget for as long as I’m alive. I cried, laughed, and felt as if I could leap tall buildings with a single bound. As I wheeled her bassinet down the empty hospital hallway so she could have her first bath, I whispered to her, “Hi there. I’m not perfect, but I will dedicate my life to ensuring yours is amazing as possible. I love you, kiddo.” She was sleeping peacefully, but I know she heard me.

I don’t take any moment with my daughter for granted, I cherish all of the time I have with her, and I miss her like hell when she’s not with me. Poopy diapers, tantrums, late-night meltdowns, whatever – I don’t really care. I asked for this, I prayed for this, I am built for this.

I call myself a Daddy Doin’ Work not because it’s a catchy little nickname, but because I understand the amount of work it takes to be good, involved father. Gone are the days when a dad can come home from work, kick off his shoes, and yell, “Honey, where’s my dinner??” while he watches ESPN, plays videogames, drinks beer, and ignores his children.

It takes work to support an exhausted wife and girlfriend.

It takes work to change diapers in the middle of the night and comfort a crying infant.

It takes work to always keep promises to our children.

It takes work to be the positive male role model our children need and deserve.

The good news is that plenty of these great men exist today, and they’re constantly Doin’ Work to ensure their kids have the happiest and most fulfilled lives. To these men, no job is more important than being a good daddy. They are selfless, hardworking, and loving – and they should be the gold standard for whatfatherhood is all about.

So what does being a Daddy Doin’ Work mean to me?

It’s a reminder on that cold rainy night in December 2009 I didn’t think I’d ever be a father.

It’s a reminder that I was supposed to hold my son or daughter in my arms on Father’s Day 2010, but instead I spent time alone in tears clutching the baby’s ultrasound picture. It’s that memory that will ensure I never take a moment with my daughter for granted.

It’s a reminder that I wouldn’t hesitate to kill or be killed if it meant protecting my daughter.

It’s a reminder that unconditional love truly exists.

It’s a reminder that my daughter is the only person who can erase the shittiest of days with a simple smile or hug.

It’s a reminder that money shouldn’t be spent on things (fancy cars, designer clothes, etc.) but on experiences that create lasting memories (weddings, vacations, parties with loved ones, etc.).

It’s a reminder that delivering a healthy baby is truly the universe’s greatest miracle, and one that I will cherish forever.

So in closing, that is what being a Daddy Doin’ Work means to me. I want to give a big shout out to the real men out there who understand that raising children isn’t “women’s work,” the real men who aren’t afraid to hug and kiss their children in public, the real men who cook dinner and clean up the house so their wives/girlfriends can take a much needed break, the real men who bust their asses to provide the best lives for their kids, the real men who take their jobs of being the primary male role-model for their children very seriously, and to the single mothers who step up and play the daddy role as well.

Yes, I call myself a Daddy Doin’ Work, but when you love what you do, is it ever really “work”?

Not in my mind.

 

Doyin Richards writes the blog Daddy Doin’ Work where he writes about the adventures of a first-time father raising his daughter.  You can also follow him on Facebook.  

 

6 Comments

  1. Tessa on March 26, 2013 at 2:58 am

    Doyin another great post. You are indeed a daddy doin work. Little DDW is as lucky to have you as a Daddy, as you are to have her for your baby girl xx



  2. Kristin Kat on March 26, 2013 at 5:30 am

    Wonderful post – truer words have never been spoken!

    Faithful RDW,
    Kristin



  3. Shazz on March 26, 2013 at 5:44 am

    AWESOME POST! Doyin, I cried all through this post. From compassion for your loss, and from happiness from your gain! It’s wonderful to see that you and your beautiful wife are so happy! Seeing this closeness and love is what keeps me going on bad days. I don’t look at people worse off than me to get out of the pit, I look at people happier than me (doesn’t happen often!) and let them raise me up! I love reading about this and am so happy what I found both you and Cappuccino Queen! 😀



    • cappuccinoqueen on March 26, 2013 at 5:47 am

      Shazz, what a great statement “I look at people happier than me and let them raise me up!” Sometimes I find that lately people are afraid to share good news with me since I have gone through such a hard time. I LOVE good news! It keeps me hopeful and helps me look forward to the good times that I still have ahead of me in life.



  4. Christine on March 27, 2013 at 3:47 pm

    This post filled me with both sorrow and joy. I feel so much grief because my children have never known tender daddy love. I have a photo of my ex holding our newborn son in the hospital and to this day I cannot look at it because all I want to do is cry when I see it. To an outsider it looks like a typical picture of a proud daddy with his newborn son, but the truth is I had quickly placed the baby in his arms and snapped the picture. No sooner had the flash gone off and he handed the baby back. Just hours later I had to leave the hospital (only 26 hours after giving birth) because my son’s father simply refused to take care of our two daughters (ages 2 and 3), just as he refused to take care of me, and our son when we got home. The photo was staged, a facade; just like our life and our so- called marriage. There was no marriage and he was never a father.

    Despite that, this post brings me joy because, yes; there are sweet, tender daddies out there and hopefully these men will inspire other men to be loving husbands, and loving fathers to their precious children. Also, this post gives me hope that my daughters will fare better than I did, and they will marry decent, loving men one day. Yes, they are out there. Daddy Doin Work is one of them! His wife and daughter are very blessed.



  5. Di on March 30, 2013 at 8:25 am

    I was in tears reading this, probably seems odd, but simply hearing your story and what a wonderful caring man and father you are is uplifting, and gives me hope that there are still some good men, good fathers, around. Your daughter is a lucky, lucky child!!