Definition Essay Fatherhood

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John Allen Professor Robert Kane English 101/Section 1769 22 September 2014 Definition Essay: Fatherhood, Final Draft. Fatherhood has been succinctly defined as the state of being a father, though in my own first-hand experience, it is far more than one can define with a total of 6 words. The full gravity of the state of fatherhood did not begin to really sink in until my oldest son Christopher was about one week old. I found myself utterly overwhelmed with a sense of pure joy and love for Christopher as I held him one day while simultaneously realizing that my own parents had the same feelings for me. Flashing back to my youth (which was half filled with self-destructive, anti-social behavior), I saw my father in an entirely different way. Many of the emotional “scars” from my younger years morphed into a deep understanding of what he was trying to accomplish in those difficult situations. As Christopher grew, I started to recognize the many different hats that my father wore during the course of my own upbringing. He was a provider, teacher, coach, clown, confidant, disciplinarian, employer, and my own personal Superman. I was also perfecting my ability to be the man my son needed in a particular moment and as his needs developed, my goal became a rapidly moving target. Fortunately for me, I was able to look to my childhood and my father’s example as a guide in most cases while other cases required me to develop my own “hat” right there on-the-spot. On June 2nd of 2007, my wife and I were blessed again – this time with identical twin boys, Gavin and Scot. Having 2 newborns that were on a nearly constant feeding cycle, my bag of tricks was growing ever larger. I was juggling a marriage, a two year old, a job, and two infants successfully. I felt untouchable and was fully comfortable with my fatherly abilities. On the evening of August 22nd of that
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