'Taking care of business' kind of man...

Yesterday I was listening to a Chris Rock show (circa a long time ago) on my iPod and something he said really hit home: “Nobody ever thanks Daddy…I don’t mean your father, I mean the man who stays and takes care of his business…everybody thanks Mama for meals, love, and care but no one says, man I like having heat, thanks for knocking out that rent dad, I LOVE having lights…” Now I know we have Father’s Day but it’s not quite the same as saying, “thanks for choosing to wake-up EVERY day and go to work for me and my family”.

Now I, like most people in this world, had a biological father who loved my mother enough to bring me into this world but not enough to take care of his business. Almost 6 years later, I was truly blessed when God gave my mother and I both a loving man to join our family.
 

He is a man that takes CARE of his business; he worked the 3^rd shift because it paid more, he drove a P.O.S. so we could have 1 dependable car, and he was always there when the ‘better’ turned into worse and those are just a few examples.

He loved/loves us both, unconditionally.  I may not have his blood running through my veins but his love is a reason why I was able to find such a stable relationship on my own.  He gave me a reason to believe and fight for the love I deserve. 

In a world where ‘fathers’ can decide a situation is  not ideal  and run for the exit it is refreshing to find there are men like my father and step-father in-law  who not only care for other men’s children but love them and put their needs before their own.  Making a child does not make you a father nor does giving birth to a child make you a mother, any idiot can do that; I hear MTV has a show about it.  It is consciously choosing someone else’s well being before your own, loving someone more than you love yourself, and staying when the road gets rough.  Becoming a parent has not been as easy as I thought it would be; the journey has shed some light on some of the sacrifices that my daddy made for me and my mother and has shown me how much he really loves us.

The experience has also made me very thankful that I was able to find my own ‘taking care of business’ man, in Tarzan, and I make sure to let him know that I appreciate the choices he makes every day for our family.