He takes in his first breathe just like she does,
Doctors and nurses sigh in relief and broad smiles stretch across their faces,
Congratulations and well-done mum follow as she is handed her son to hold,
Mixed feelings of joy, unbelief, excitement and fatigue overwhelm her,
Pride and a deep sense of protection fill the father's heart,
He needs to be cleaned and mummy needs to rest,
Minus a rib his journey begins.
She names him and begins to nurse the miracle in her hands,
He ensures they are both comfortable and praises his wife,
Soon they are deemed healthy and home they go,
Uncertain of the details, they embrace parenthood and vow to give their best,
She is peaceful while he is hopeful to provide for them,
Minus a rib one sleeps, the other takes pride in his family.
Days go by quickly and growth is evident,
Junior is crying less, playing more and giving toothless smiles,
Paternal leave is over while mum learns to manage at home,
He returns to work; pressure, politics and deadlines greet him,
His mind, heart and soul are consumed with the new responsibilities,
Minus a rib he is determined to give his family the best.
The change is drastic forcing them to develop new routines,
In his quiet moments worry and fear threatened to steal his peace,
Their needs have increased but his salary is constant,
Past failures and experiences terrorize his conscious,
His desire to be a great dad is put to test,
Minus a rib he fights to be strong for his family.
She knows he is giving his best but her emotions at times override her mind,
Her fears and insecurities stimulate her tear glands as she shares with him,
He too is afraid of the unknown but he puts aside his fears to comfort her,
The society intently watches him to see if he will meet the high unsaid expectations they have,
He feels their stares, hears their murmurs and sees their judging faces,
Minus a rib he prays for strength and wisdom to make right choices.
He tries to seek counsel from friends to help shoulder his load,
Some are jealous or envious of his milestones and begin to mislead him,
In his absence they gossip, mock and predict his failure,
Others are honest and offer to walk the journey with him,
They share their own failures and experiences to encourage him to keep going,
Minus a rib he seeks support to share his burdens.
The scenarios are endless yet the men and boy child in your lives need to respected and supported. You have expectations, society has expectations and themselves they have expectations. They will make mistakes, disappoint us or even abandon us. This makes them humans who made bad choices and that's on them. After many sessions of why? how could he? tears and anger, i tried to imagine life from their view. Though my view as depicted here may not be accurate i found this exercise gave me some sort of understanding and allowed me to choose forgiveness and grace because I too need the same. The questions do not stop after such a choice but it opens up room for peace to take root.
"Let's all try go through life with minimal damage and destruction to each other because our choices and actions will be felt many generations later even after we are gone!!!!"
He ensures they are both comfortable and praises his wife,
Soon they are deemed healthy and home they go,
Uncertain of the details, they embrace parenthood and vow to give their best,
She is peaceful while he is hopeful to provide for them,
Minus a rib one sleeps, the other takes pride in his family.
Days go by quickly and growth is evident,
Junior is crying less, playing more and giving toothless smiles,
Paternal leave is over while mum learns to manage at home,
He returns to work; pressure, politics and deadlines greet him,
His mind, heart and soul are consumed with the new responsibilities,
Minus a rib he is determined to give his family the best.
The change is drastic forcing them to develop new routines,
In his quiet moments worry and fear threatened to steal his peace,
Their needs have increased but his salary is constant,
Past failures and experiences terrorize his conscious,
His desire to be a great dad is put to test,
Minus a rib he fights to be strong for his family.
She knows he is giving his best but her emotions at times override her mind,
Her fears and insecurities stimulate her tear glands as she shares with him,
He too is afraid of the unknown but he puts aside his fears to comfort her,
The society intently watches him to see if he will meet the high unsaid expectations they have,
He feels their stares, hears their murmurs and sees their judging faces,
Minus a rib he prays for strength and wisdom to make right choices.
He tries to seek counsel from friends to help shoulder his load,
Some are jealous or envious of his milestones and begin to mislead him,
In his absence they gossip, mock and predict his failure,
Others are honest and offer to walk the journey with him,
They share their own failures and experiences to encourage him to keep going,
Minus a rib he seeks support to share his burdens.
The scenarios are endless yet the men and boy child in your lives need to respected and supported. You have expectations, society has expectations and themselves they have expectations. They will make mistakes, disappoint us or even abandon us. This makes them humans who made bad choices and that's on them. After many sessions of why? how could he? tears and anger, i tried to imagine life from their view. Though my view as depicted here may not be accurate i found this exercise gave me some sort of understanding and allowed me to choose forgiveness and grace because I too need the same. The questions do not stop after such a choice but it opens up room for peace to take root.
"Let's all try go through life with minimal damage and destruction to each other because our choices and actions will be felt many generations later even after we are gone!!!!"
