Who said a single parent can't do it? Even though not as both parents would do it, a single parent is able to do the work of two somehow and my dad is a testimony to that. I was still very young when mum left and dad had to take up the mum and dad role for my siblings and I.
I can't remember clearly how it was for dad at first but I'm very sure it wasn't as easy as anyone would have thought it would be. Dad had difficulty in taking up both roles for us but somehow he just find himself getting good at it slowly.
Today, I look back and can't stop being appreciative to my dad for the hard work and love he displayed for my siblings and I to come this far. Anyone who sees us would think we grew up in the love of both parents but it was never like that, dad just had a way he played his roles that we didn't feel much of mum's absence.
Don't get me wrong, we missed mum more than anyone we knew and we were very happy to reunited with her again but we are also the best persons to learn of what the home of a single dad is like. Dad isn't so rich but I can not recall anytime growing up that I didn't get whatever I asked dad for.
People would say he wasn't doing the right thing providing whatever we needed but dad didn't let them stop him and this has made us grow assurance for dad whenever that he would provide us so long we talk to him about it. It had both a positive and negative effect on us but the positives was more.
Naturally, most of what we learned as kids growing up was from dad and thankfully, dad has a good and emulative character that many people we meet today appreciate us for copying from him. My younger bro takes so much of his inquisitive self, wanting to do things himself and in a better way.
Dad had a strong influence on us, his cooking skills were copied, his jovial self was copied and most importantly, his love for his children was copied and given to him back. When we're out together as family, we could feel how proud dad is telling everyone we came across that we are his children, his pride.
In all of dad's love as a single parent, we wished it was complete with mum around but we didn't let that affect how we appreciate what dad has been doing and is still doing for us. Since I started to understand the work load dad had on him since mum left, I could imagine how difficult it must have been for him.
But my dad isn't one to give up or act tired easily, he would keep pushing until a better result and it has been that way for him which today, shows in his children. I can't even start counting the number of times we've been blessed and shown kindness for the simple fact that dad didn't give up on his children when he had the chance to.
Over and over, dad has proved that single parents may find it difficult but it isn't impossible to be a mum and a dad to his children. This has to a large extent shaped my thought about single parenting and finding the right person to settle down with so I could avoid becoming like dad as he wouldn't want such for his children.
This is my entry to the Inleo prompt challenge with a focus on "Wedding, Divorce and Single by choice" and you are invited to participate too.
First image designed with Canva
Second image generated from Gencraft
