Maybe I have amnesia but I cannot recall Father's Day in recent years being so filled with negativity toward men. It is a day to celebrate the fathers who are truly daddies and appreciate them. It is not a day to devote to magnifying the fathers who are not real daddies. I will be the first to say that my status update on my personal page on facebook yesterday addressed both issues and I even surprised myself. It read as follows: Happy Father's Day to all the fathers out there who play the role of daddy and make it happen for their families on a daily basis. We don't have enough of that endangered specie nowadays. For those who need to make amends, it is not too late to start. Get going!
I can't recall that ever being my focus on father's day. My focus had shifted and I didn't even realize it. And that was before I got a chance to log on for any appreciable length of time after church and actually view other folks' status updates. There were so many updates that were saying happy father's day to the single mothers and such that it made me sad and it made me think. There is a shift in our thinking because of just how bad the absence of fathers has become, especially in the African American society. I have said it before and will say it again, 70% of African American homes are single parent homes. And we know that mostly refers to homes headed by women and not the few that are the exception. That is a topic for another day but I had to throw it in there.
So, let us never forget to acknowledge and celebrate the fathers who are real daddies to their kids, whether theirs biologically or not. We appreciate the fathers who feed their kids, bathe their kids, read them bedtime stories, teach them how to ride a bike and take them to the grocery store. We say thank you to the fathers who pay the bills, who work hard every day to put a roof over their families and clothes on their bodies. We say kudos to these rare men, an endangered species and I pray that somehow in my lifetime, we will be able to turn it around so that once again, we will have a preponderance of two parent families raising balanced kids to the best of their ability; that once again, we will have the respect for men that God intended even as it says in the Bible that the man is the head of the home. May these men truly be worthy of this title. May it be easy for their women to view them as such because they have earned it.
That is my wish
That is my prayer
That in my lifetime
Things will turn around.
Hmmmmm....................
From facebook:
ReplyDeletePRE: This is so true and so sad at the same time. I feel it for kids without fathers. On father's Day, my girls took daddy out for breakfast and the look on his face when he walked out with his girls was priceless. I wished in my heart all kids could be blessed with a father like my hubby. I told him that when God created him, he throw away the mold. A... See More kid couldnt have asked for a better father. He has done it all for his girls and it gives me piece that there are other great fathers out there like him. Thanks for sharing Folake. ♥
Folake Taylor: You are so welcome Pauline and thanks for sharing as well. I just felt the need to celebrate the daddies that are real daddies because there aren't enough around anymore!
RM:The hardest job in the world.
No one is ever ready for it but should never doubt that it is the most important responsibility you will ever be blessed with.
... See More
I love being a daddy and know a lot of people who share this view and do everything they can to try and do this job as well as you possibly can .
So respect to all the daddies out there we will do our job with love and pride and ignore the negative vibe!
Flaky,
Always love your vibe sis. But you know that!
Roger
Folake Taylor: Thanks Ro. Love your write up. Kudos to you for being a great dad and we celebrate you and others like you this week and always.
Facebook comment:
ReplyDeleteA.N.T.: Gods plan for man is made perfect through perfecting the family. Thats why the devil continually attack families. The father being the head is a major target. Once the father looses it then everything begins to fall apart. We need to continue to pray to sustain the Daddies.Our daddies need more prayers than criticism. True Daddies!!! Hmmm. God ... See Moregrant us the grace to know and appreciate the true meaning of it. Thanks Flaki for keeping alive the dream of keeping the family as one. I am so passionate about it.