A Sneaker Wearing Dads story of growing up without a dad
 |
 |
|
|
|
||||||
|
Growing Up Without A Dad - Curtis D. Tucker The thing about growing up without a dad at an early age is that it's kinda like growing up without an uncle you never met. You hear stories about him and wonder what he might be like but you realize he's not a part of your life and you easily forget that he might have once been a part of your childhood. When my parents divorced in the mid 60's, they divorced. My dad high tailed it out of town and I have not seen nor heard from him since I was about five or six. I was just young enough to not have really relied on him for many things and was not old enough to have a multitude of memories. My dad has always been that guy in the pictures that was once married to my mom. A sad way of looking at it for some but a mundane reality for others. Growing up without a dad had its ups and downs. Every one of my friends growing up had a dad and as far as I knew all had pretty great marriages. The funny things was, as much time as I spent with many of my friends, I really never saw their dads that often. Most dads were off working during the day and then seemed to disappear at night. None of my friends dads coached the baseball team, were Boy Scout leaders or spent time playing outdoor games with us. So I never really felt like I was missing out on anything. I do think I would have pursued sports a little more had I grown up with a dad. Especially one that might have coached me and could have built up a my confidence a bit. I never saw myself as a good athlete growing up and I actually never really was that interested in watching sports. Looking back now I know I could have been good at one sport or another but I just never gave it much effort. As weird as this might sound I actually ended up with two dads rather than one. My mom did a great job of filling in for that fatherly role. She signed me up for baseball and came to my games, she had me in scouts and helped me earn my badges and she encouraged me to pursue the things I was interested in. My mom did a great job of showing me how to make my way on my own. She always worked two jobs, without complaining, and first showed me that entrepreneurial spirit that I finally harvested in my adult years. I never realized it in all of the years that she ran her craft business but my mom was a business owner. She worked hard, managed her business and turned out a quality product. My second dad was actually my best friend, Stayton's dad. My best buddy moved to town when we were in the sixth grade and low and behold, he was an only child! Things couldn't have worked out more perfect for the both of us. He was always needing a friend to take on vacation and my mom was always working so hard that we didn't get to take many vacations. So needless to say I spent many vacations and many weekends hanging out with my best friend and his parents. I can still hear Mr. PettyJohn yelling, "Curtoose!". He pretty much always treated me like one of his kids and never gave me any more slack than Stayton. We were taught the finer points of manners, commitment and how to get along. I really appreciate everything the PettyJohn family did for me and for always making me feel like I was one of their own. So for me, growing up without a dad wasn't so much growing up without a father, it was more like growing up with an assortment of father's, all leading me, teaching me and molding me into the father I am today. Am I a better father to my girls because of it? One million percent yes! I treasure every day that I get to spend with my girls and wouldn't trade seeing them grow for all of the tea in China. Being a dad is pretty much the best job I've ever had. Here's a Father's Day message to my beautiful little girls... Back to blog and comments section... |
|
|
|
||
|
zoinkology |
 |
Learn How To Make Your Life Happy!  © Curtis D. Tucker 2008 :: A division of Shaggy Duck Studios - Enid, Oklahoma Contact Me |
|
|||
| |