Not all men are afraid of being a Dad. We know one who embraced the role…after a few lessons.
As told by Victor D. Freeman
Fatherhood has been everything I envisioned it to be and more. I’ve surprisingly enjoyed my walk as a father due to the joy my children bring me, but most of all and my willingness to embrace my role.
Surprised? You bet, because I was scared to death of the responsibility prior to my son arriving. I was 26, not where I wanted to be professionally, and I had little money stored away. Most importantly, I didn’t have a paradigm to follow. I, like so many African American men, grew up without a father (my father passed away due to untimely death when I was two-years-old) and I definitely didn’t want to emulate many of the men that I encountered growing up.
So, there was my starting point in terms of framing what I didn’t want to be as a caregiver.
In a strange way, the absence of a father in my childhood provided structure for me. I knew I wanted to have a presence, be loving, and involved. These were the actions that I longed for from a father and I felt that my children would want the same.
I found out pretty early that fatherhood was going to come natural to me, I still remember the joy I had holding my son month’s after he was born and hearing him coo and giggle for the first time. I thought: “What an infectious laugh!” …and I was hooked. The moment felt more significant than when I first held him as a newborn because I was still in shock that I was a Dad! His laughing moment told me that I loved him MORE that day than the day that he was born. My love for him was growing.
