Happy Birthday, Jason!
Thirty four years ago today, at exactly 10:31 p.m., something came into my life that changed me in a way I could not begin to imagine. He arrived weighing 10 lbs. 2 ounces and was 23 1/2" long. No, I didn't adopt a six week old child...he was my newborn son. Today he is 200 lbs and 6' 6" 'long' and if it's even possible I love him more now than I did the moment he was placed into my arms.
His life's road wasn't all that easy; parent's divorcing when he was five...being forced to live with his grand parents for eight long years, moving into a house with a step-father that he didn't know, becoming involved with drugs and alcohol, attempting suicide more than once, losing the love of his life, failing courses in college. Yes...these are the bumps in the road that my son had to travel over in order to arrive at his destination.
Did he become the President of the United States, no....his name isn't Obama. Did he become a doctor or a lawyer or the CEO of a company? No. He didn't achieve any of these roles...but what he did achieve was the title of "Daddy."
When my son's wife decided to leave and take their baby with her...Jason didn't hesitate to fight for his child. "You don't live close enough," was one of the arguments given by the judge. Jason left his job and moved closer to his son. "Your work hours are not compatible with raising a child," was another argument. Jason quit his next job and went to work as a bartender on the weekends. The weekends were when his son, Zeke, was with his mom; that way, Jason would have all week days and week nights to be with Zeke. Whatever obstacle the judge handed him, Jason managed to get through it...and was eventually rewarded with 50% custody of his son. Zeke, now at the age of 6, spends most of his time with his Daddy.
His life's road wasn't all that easy; parent's divorcing when he was five...being forced to live with his grand parents for eight long years, moving into a house with a step-father that he didn't know, becoming involved with drugs and alcohol, attempting suicide more than once, losing the love of his life, failing courses in college. Yes...these are the bumps in the road that my son had to travel over in order to arrive at his destination.
Did he become the President of the United States, no....his name isn't Obama. Did he become a doctor or a lawyer or the CEO of a company? No. He didn't achieve any of these roles...but what he did achieve was the title of "Daddy."
When my son's wife decided to leave and take their baby with her...Jason didn't hesitate to fight for his child. "You don't live close enough," was one of the arguments given by the judge. Jason left his job and moved closer to his son. "Your work hours are not compatible with raising a child," was another argument. Jason quit his next job and went to work as a bartender on the weekends. The weekends were when his son, Zeke, was with his mom; that way, Jason would have all week days and week nights to be with Zeke. Whatever obstacle the judge handed him, Jason managed to get through it...and was eventually rewarded with 50% custody of his son. Zeke, now at the age of 6, spends most of his time with his Daddy.
Do I care what my son does for a living? Not at all. What I do care about is seeing a child walk up and jump into his father's arms and say, "Daddy, I love you more than anything in the entire world," and hearing my son say, "No, buddy, I love you more than anything in the entire world."
My son, who grew up without a father, who had no basis of comparison, who didn't know the meaning of the word, became the world's greatest "Daddy."
Happy Birthday, Daddy. I am proud of you.
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