𝐂𝐞𝐥𝐞𝐛𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐏𝐚𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐭/𝐒𝐢𝐛𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐈𝐦𝐚𝐠𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐬

Single Dad Worries • 𝖲𝗁𝖺𝗐𝗇 𝖬𝖾𝗇𝖽𝖾𝗌/𝖯𝖺𝗋𝖾𝗇𝗍

(𝗔/𝗡 : 𝘀𝗺𝗮𝗹𝗹, 𝗳𝗹𝘂𝗳𝗳𝘆 𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝘀𝗵𝗼𝘁 𝗯𝗰 𝗶𝗺 𝗯𝗼𝗿𝗲𝗱)

I became a single father at the young age of 18 when my ex-girlfriend left our premature baby girl on my front porch in a basket. Not wanting to be like my mother who abandoned me at an orphanage, I picked her up and brought her into my home.

I didn't know much about taking care of a baby so I called my younger sister, Aaliyah, for help. Not only did she make parenting sound like a job, but she also made it sound dangerous and scary, as if at any moment your baby could just die. Already having a connection with my newborn daughter, I couldn't let that happen. So being the man I was, I went to some home department stores to get baby locks and baby gates. I baby gated and locked every door and cabinet in the house, I wasn't taking any chances.

But after baby proofing everything, I noticed that I didn't get my daughter any toys. The only toy my ex-girlfriend had sent her was a crocheted bunny with black, bead eyes and pink overalls. It was adorable, but it wasn't enough to keep a baby entertained, so I went back to the store and bought some toys for her, but just as I was about to sit on the couch, I thought about baby necessities like diapers, baby lotion, soap, a baby bath–forgetting about all of this stuff made me realize that maybe I'm not cut out to be a parent.

As I was sulking in my hands, a loud wail came from my room where I was keeping my daughter until I got her nursery together. I went upstairs to my room and went to see what my daughter was crying about. When I opened the door, her cries were loud and heartbreaking. I noticed that her crocheted bunny wasn't in her hands, and could only guess that that was the problem.

I picked up the bunny from beside the bed and put it next to her. Her cries immediately died down and she was soon back to sleep. I smile and brush a bit of her loose curls (that I can easily tell she inherited from me) off of her face before leaning down and gently pecking her forehead. My worries about being the ideal perfect parent slowly faded away. I think...I'm going to be just fine.