Man Who Says He Wasn’t ‘Equipped’ To Be A Girl Dad Reads A Poem He Wrote About Her That Shows Just How Wrong He Was
The depths of his love for his little girl are obvious, despite his doubts.
Caroline Hernandez / Unsplash Becoming a parent is a whirlwind event, rife with both joy and anxiety. For one dad, having a second child opened up a wellspring of self-doubt that he was able to conquer through the sheer act of showing up and sharing his love.
A man who said he wasn’t ‘equipped’ to be a girl dad read a poem for his daughter, proving just how wrong he was.
The dad described how he felt the moment he and his wife found out that their second child would be a girl, saying, “I was extremely nervous because I’m a boy dad.”
“Being a boy dad came natural,” he continued. “I never had any fears or reservations about it. I just jumped right in.”
He explained his anxieties about raising a daughter by asking the question, “What do I know about the intricacies of girls and women?”
He took his role as a girl dad seriously, noting one specific regret: “I wish I had trusted myself more at the beginning.”
Photo: Mieke Campbell / Unsplash
“Now, I know I’m just lucky to have her as part of my life every day,” he said.
The dad’s shift in outlook shows that parenting is both a learned role and one that works by trusting your instincts.
Showing up as yourself is often the best thing a parent can do. He spoke to the preconceived notions he had about raising a daughter, saying, “I envisioned, like, a delicate flower, whenever I thought about having a baby girl, and she’s more like a raccoon badger mixture. I mean, super cute, nonetheless, but a lot more ferocious,” he laughed. “That’s been kind of a blessing for me, because that’s more like my wheelhouse.”
The dad shared a poem he wrote as a tribute to his daughter, sharing the joy he feels from raising his little girl to conquer the world.
“This is called ‘Banks,’” he began, before reciting the sweet words he wrote to honor his daughter.
“She hardly listens to me, but I supplied her with that trait. She’s more free than her peers. She won’t fall for tricks or bait,” he said. “She rarely takes my affection, though I offer it despite. Filled to the brim with fire, she likes to play but loves to fight. She cuts me with her razor eyes and melts me with a look. She can throw a tantrum that will leave a grown man shook."
His poem touched on his daughter’s traits that he admired: Her fierceness, independence, and her strong will.
“I don’t raise her, that’s for sure, though I’m with her every hour,” he went on. “She flourishes in her own world. I’m here to steer her power.”
Photo: Kabita Darlami / Unsplash
“I can’t wait until tomorrow, to see what else the girl will do, yet I hate to watch the sun go down, Father Time collects his due.”
The dad captured the fleeting feelings that accompany raising kids.
The days move quickly, and all parents can do is hold on and enjoy the journey they’re sharing with their kids.
“She is not for the faint of heart, the passive, or the mild. She’s never had a boring moment, she’s cunning and she’s wild. I’d sign up again a thousand times, hold on, ride ‘round this curve,” he said.
The poem ended with an especially heartwarming line, as the man proclaimed, “It’s an honor just to be the dad of a girl that I don’t deserve.”
In a separate post, the proud dad showed off one of the ways he and his little girl spend time together: Teaching his daughter her way around a motorcycle.
The dad’s vulnerable and heartwarming tribute to raising a daughter shows the power of learning as we go and expanding our expectations of what we’re capable of. The depth of his love shines through in every word he shared. It’s clear that he’s raising a force to be reckoned with and that he’s loving every minute of their adventures together.
Alexandra Blogier is a writer on YourTango's news and entertainment team. She covers parenting, pop culture analysis and all things to do with the entertainment industry.