The dad who stayed

Dad Bod and Dough

When Dad Has to Be Both

There are stories you tell with laughter.

And there are stories you tell because they are the truth.

This is one of those.

My wife left.

I want to be clear about something though-

Despite everything, I know in my heart that I was the best husband I could be. There is nothing I could have done differently. She just wanted something or somebody else I guess and I was clearly not enough! So, one day she left and has never been seen again.

The part that breaks me is not that she walked away from me.

It’s that she walked away from her child.

She didn’t just leave a marriage.

She left a little girl without a mother.

And that is something I will never understand.

“ Does it get any easier?’’

Watching the Strength of a Child

My daughter tries to be strong.

Stronger than a child should ever have to be.

She pretends she hates her mother.
She says we are better off without her.
She tells me we don’t need anyone else.

But sometimes, when she thinks I’m not looking, I see it.

That quiet moment.

That look in her eyes.

The one that says she misses her mom.

The one that says she’s hurting but doesn’t want me to see.

Children are incredible that way.
They try to protect the people who are protecting them.

And that breaks my heart more than anything else.

“ Packing Madams favourite, yet slightly unhealthy treats”

Being Mom and Dad

So I try.

I try to be both.

Mom and dad.

The comfort when she’s sad.
The strength when she’s scared.
The laughter when she needs to forget.

I cook.

I pack lunches.

I do bedtime talks.

I listen to the things she says and the things she doesn’t say.

I try to fill a space that no one person should ever have to fill alone.

Some days I get it right.

Some days I don’t.

But every single day I try.

“ The worry never ends”

The Breaking Point

There are moments when the weight of it all hits me.

Mentally.

Physically.

Emotionally.

Moments where I feel like I’m standing on the edge of a breaking point.

The kind of edge where you think you can’t hold it together for one more day.

And then something happens.

I look at my daughter.

And I remember something important.

She doesn’t need a perfect dad.

She just needs her dad.

So I pull myself back.

Every time.

Because that’s what dads do.

To the Other Single Dads

There are more of us out there than people realize.

Men raising children alone.

Men trying to figure out homework, emotions, school lunches and broken hearts all at the same time.

Men who carry the quiet weight of being the only parent left.

If you’re one of those dads, I want you to know something.

You’re not weak for struggling.

You’re not failing when you feel overwhelmed.

You’re human.

And every day you show up for your child, you’re doing something extraordinary.

Because sometimes life doesn’t give you the family you planned.

Sometimes it gives you the family that needs you the most.

And when that happens, you stand up.

You carry the weight.

You keep going.

Because you are dad.

Raising a daughter.
‍ ‍Raising a business.
‍ ‍Raising hell when necessary.

And sometimes just being a Krac’ked Dad