Monday 6 May 2013

"Please Don't leave me Daddy"


I just recently met with a young dad who shared his heart-wrenching story with me. This past Christmas holiday he spent one full week with his son.  The father’s face lit up with a big smile as he shared with me in great detail about the fun time he and his son had spent together over the holidays. “We bonded,” he said, mentioning, “This is a rare thing, to bond with my kid”, as his ex-girlfriend and son live in another city. “I want to see my little guy all the time, but it’s not possible because of the distance between us.”  The young dad’s elation about spending time with his son turned to noticeable sadness as he told me the story of dropping his son off after such a great week. The tears welled up in his eyes; his face got very reflective and he said to me, “Dave, it was horrible, man, just horrible.” He had been holding his son when he dropped him off.  He tried to pass his son over to his mom, but his son grabbed onto his neck yelling, “Please don’t leave me, DADDY!”  There was a lump in my throat as he shared his story. I had a similar experience with my son years ago. And I knew full well how he felt.  That being said, I was amazed at how optimistic he was about things getting better for him and his son one day really soon, even after the ordeal he had just been through. He told me how grateful he was that Stepping Up was there for him. And that he finds hope in knowing he doesn’t have to struggle all alone as a young father.  
“Thanks for being there for me, man!”