TESTIMONIAL #12 ~ SO PROUD

 

So proud of these two young ladies which I have the pleasure of calling my daughters. Jade (on the left) and Toi (on the right) have both been accepted to college. Jade chose a Historically Black College and Toi chose a traditional college. Both of my young ladies are great daughters and even greater sisters to each other. They are like hawks when it comes to their younger brother Jeyden aka pop pop. They love him as if he was their child. I'm just so proud of these two, words can't describe the joy I have inside as a father.

Carlos ~ Connecticut Member March 30, 2017

TESTIMONIAL #11 ~ MY THREE BOYS

 

No dad knows what to expect when he finds out that he's going to have children. You always want your children to have it better than you did, the same way your dad wanted you to have it better. You don’t know if you will make the right choices, decisions, or do a great job in raising them. I will admit, when something goes wrong, my reactions are a little exaggerated, but I only want them to learn right from wrong and make the right decisions. I see a lot of me in them, my love for music (my 11 year old shares my interest in DJ’ing and often helps me during school gigs). The 16 and 10 year old know more about cars than I do and we often have conversations about all types of vehicles.

Every chance I get, I’m coaching my younger two boys and their teammates in baseball, supporting my oldest and his high school football team. Even though they will drive the wife and I crazy at home, we get lots of great comments from people (on the outside) on how well mannered and polite they are. I’ll take that any day. My name is Kirk Rosemond and I’m a proud dad of three boys!

KIRK ~ CT Member March 30, 2017

TESTIMONIAL #10 ~ LIN AND NEE’S DAD

 

Lin and Nee's dad,

I always knew I was gonna be a dad. I just assumed I would have at least one boy child. God blessed me with 2 beautiful little princesses and I wouldn't change it for the world. They embody all of the best parts of me and my wife. I love their little smiles. I love to hear their voices from the other room when they are just talking to each other as if they are in their own little world. I love watching them discover new things. Sometimes I just sit and watch them sleep and wonder what they are dreaming about.  They sleep so peacefully and wake up the next day with so much excitement about the day. They love going to school and learning new things. They get so excited to come home and talk to me about what they learned. I was the same way growing up. Heck, I'm still like that to this day. I have always been excited about learning something knew.

My wife and I try very hard to encourage our girls to love themselves and everything about themselves at all times. My goal is to make sure my 2 princesses grow up with all the confidence in their own abilities and potential. I don't want to have a little boy any more. My heart is full with these 2.

Happy Daddy,

MARLON L ~ PA Member March 13, 2017

TESTIMONIAL #9 ~ A GIFT FROM GOD

 

Being a father is a gift from God. God has Blessed me with two special daughters that make me proud. My job is to raise them to be productive citizens. Things are not always perfect, but that is what parenting is all about. Lay the foundation and then it is up to them to make the right choices. I will pray for all of the other fathers in this club that God continues to cover us and our children.

#ProudDaddy

JEFF ~ VA Member March 13, 2017

TESTIMONIAL #8 ~ OVERCOMING OBSTACLES

 

 

I am a father of 3 beautiful girls. Twin 19 yo and a 12 yo. I was present for all of their births and continue to be present in their lives. I have been divorced from their mother for 8 years. It has been excruciating pain to not see my girls on a daily basis. Not be present sharing the same space of my babies is a gut wrenching pain like no other. You miss the little things you took for granted; the bickering, the laughing and the silence of the kids.

Some men may take this obstacle as a reason to completely shut themselves out of the children's life due to the relationship dissolving. I choose to do the opposite. I call my daughters every day.. I encourage them to believe in themselves and to be assertive as black women. I talk to them about the state of the world and how this society views black women and young black girls. I often share with them my journey of finishing my BA then getting a MSW. I constantly inform them about gaining all the education they can and that their ancestors are kings and queens. I have shown them what determination looks like first hand, as I struggled to seek employment in my field of work. I encourage my girls to speak their mind and to voice their opinions. As a child growing up in the 70s, a child was seen and not heard. I took the pros and cons of my upbringing and applied it to my parenting style. I go to my daughters' doctors appointments. I know my daughters' doctors and they know me.

I have been involved since day one with these girls. I can't say enough how proud I am of my daughters' resilience. They have witnessed violence, living with a relative with dementia, divorce, alcoholism and mental illness and were able to graduate high school and the youngest is reading at an upper high school level as a 7th grader.

I share this testimony to let others know there is no greater joy than being a father. It's often hard and no praise goes to us Dads. It's ok to salute and read about the Dads who hold it down and take on the challenge and duty of raising a child they made. My twins are sophomores in college, looking to teach English as a second language to Japanese people. The youngest in charge is so brilliant and sharp. I can see her being an astronaut or working with animals.

Being a father is scary and frightening these days and times, but if you are honest and keep the lines of communication open throughout your child's life, there is no obstacle or adversity you and your kids can't handle.

Peace

ERIC ~ CT Member March 13, 2017

TESTIMONIAL #7 ~ DO BETTER

 

As a single parent, my mother struggled raising two mixed children on the outskirts of West Hartford in the early seventies. Believing education was key, she worked two jobs to keep us in schools that would provide my sister and I a better future. We moved almost on a yearly basis and never lived in a house. We struggled at times but she was determined to give us a better future. Because of my mother’s drive to “Do Better” she was often not around so I grew up fast in the streets of Hartford. From dawn to dusk I was out on my bike with a boom box strapped to my handle bars and a basketball in my hand. However, even if my mother was not home, school was a priority. She always made time to help with homework, made sure my grades were on point and was not afraid to pull the belt out if I got into trouble. I finished school, went to college, have a career and have a family of my own. My mother was my role model and I thank her for making me the man I am today.

As a father of two children, I want to “Do Better” for them. I want them to live a better life than what I had. I want them to know their roots, have knowledge of self, be spiritual, be humble and well grounded. I want them to know their community as well as the communities of those less fortunate. I want them to know dreams can come true if you work hard and never give up. I want them to strive to be the best they can be, both personally, spiritually and academically. I feel my job as a parent is to lay that foundation, be a role model and provide them with as many opportunities for growth as possible. I will “Do Better” for them.

If I can do it so can you. I challenge you to “Do Better” for your children and then challenge them to “Do Better” for their children. Break the cycle that others say are impossible. Create a legacy. Make a difference. Peace.

Thanks,

Marc

Marc ~ CT Member March 1, 2017

TESTIMONIAL #6 ~ THE OLD DAD CHRONICLES

 

The Old Dad Chronicles: I love that fatherhood has brought me back to all those simple pleasures I had long forgotten. I can once again sing the words to hundreds of toddler tunes. I'm also proud to say the joys of going up and down the stairs a million times a day have finally returned to me as a 44-year-old man. This was easier in my 20's/30's, I need a nap.

TONE ~ CT Member March 1, 2017

Testimonial #5 ~ HE PROVED ME WRONG

 

Ok a little info before I give my testimony: my son is 12 and has down syndrome but he is a great kid... nothing down about him. Ok yesterday he was home playing the Xbox which he loves and has mastered. So I made him put it down and write his name; which I started off thinking he didn't know how to spell it out on his own. To my surprise he traced without a problem and then wrote it on his own. The joy from seeing this was priceless - a very proud daddy moment. Better yet, a humbling experience because I thought he was going to have some trouble with it and he proved me wrong...

Carlos ~ Connecticut Member February 20, 2017

Testimonial #4 ~ ABBA FATHER & EARTHLY FATHER

 

Grace and Peace,

I'm so excited and elated that my friend and brother ~  Ronn P ~ has provided a forum for us Real Fathers and real men to change the narrative about positive men of color who have decided to break the generational curse of being absent from our children's lives.

As a product of a single mother and a father who was non existent, I made a conscious decision (early) that I would not repeat those same patterns I saw growing up.  My children would not wonder who I was or where I was. I would not be an absent parent.

Because studies say that 85% of what we learn is visual, instead of facts I had to rely on faith.  That's truly my testimony!  See I couldn't raise my kids based upon the example I was shown; so I had to consult abba father.  The Bible clearly says, "Train up a child in the way they should go and when they grow older they will not depart from it." Proverbs 22:6

I realize now that my children Imani (22 and a senior at Xavier University of New Orleans) and Julian (20 and a sophomore at Harford Community College) are my greatest accomplishments in my life. By being a constant in their lives (attending PTA meetings, games, concerts and graduations) they know that their dad covers them in prayer & with his presence and no matter what they face in life, just like abba father is there, Daddy... their earthly father, is not far behind.  I'm proud that God chose me for this assignment.  They make me Happy to be a Daddy...

Ronn P... so Godly proud of you.  Thank you for your IMPACT, IMPARTATION & INSPIRATION in my life and so many others... Love you my man.

Pastor T #LOVEU2LIFE

 

Terrance ~ Maryland Member February 20, 2017

Testimonial #3 ~ Daddy, am I worth it?

 

It’s just after six am. The sun has yet to peer up from off the horizon. It’s time to prep for work and school. As I start toward my five year old’s room to wake her she meet’s me in her doorway rubbing her eyes. I don’t have to tell you guys that five is an extremely inquisitive age. This particular morning, my daughter starts our day with one simple question…”Daddy, am I worth it?”

I never thought I would be standing here in this time having such a conversation. My first born (son) is a 21 year old senior in college. I’d be traveling the world care free having paid what should have been my last tuition payment just last month. “Daddy, am I worth it?”

My kids and I love music. I am a child of the seventies. I grew up on Motown. That means my kids are growing up on Motown. One of my favorite songs is With a Child’s Heart by Michael Jackson. I would play it for my children almost daily when they were babies. The lyrics are so magically simplistic.

 

With a child's heart

Go face the worries of the day

With a child's heart

Turn each problem into play

No need to worry no need to fear

Just being alive makes it all so very clear

With a child's heart

Nothing can ever get you down

With a child's heart

You've got no reason to frown

Love is as welcome

As a sunny sunny day

No grown-up thoughts

To lead our hearts astray…

 

“Daddy, am I worth it?” That question so encapsulates the essence of the song. It’s the very spirit I hope to instill in my children for as long as possible because they face an increasingly colder and crueler world. I know no greater joy than that of being a father. There is no greater blessing. It is what drives me. It is what keeps me grounded.

“Daddy, am I worth it?”

Yes baby, you are worth every second of every minute of every hour of everyday of every breath that I take for as long as I live!

Family over everything… peace and blessings!

Antonio ~ DC Member February 14, 2017

Testimonial #2

 

When I was told that I was going to be a father it was a feeling that I've never felt before. The joy and all the positive emotions were overwhelming. Very soon after that came the nerves and the anxiety. So I took a ride to let all this amazing news settle in. I lived in Charlotte NC at the time. My ride ended up in Washington DC where my brother and sister lived. I had no luck in finding them so I met up with a good friend and classmate of mine from Johnson C. Smith University. Our conversation was long but ended with him laughing at me. He laughed and he said of all the people he met at school he knew I would be a great father. I thanked him but thought that position was filled already by my own father.

9 months later it turns out that this great father was apart of the birth of an even greater son. On an early April morning in 1994 at 6:12am I found out the real meaning of the phrase, Man Up!! My other Bornday. Being that my fiancée at the time had our son on the hallway floor of our apartment, I was the first to hold our child. Before I handed him to his mother I told him that I would always be there for him. Just like my father is for me. Fast Forward 22yrs.  I see the makings of a much better man than I could ever be!! What else can a father ask for in life?

John ~ Hartford, CT Member February 13, 2017

Testimonial #1 – DADDY’S HERE

 

Daddy's Here
Too bad we don't always listen, but we hear
Too bad we are not always present, but we're here

We know how to play and let you get away
We smile inside, when we witness you eating
We smirk when we hear your troubles
Our love is too often not visible, but not hard to see

You see Daddy's are these mystical creatures that can be the lion, hyena and the cool cat
Who is the only one that is undefeated against the Boogeyman and can become him too?
Boo!
Daddy's home

 

 

 

S.A.M. ~ HARLEM USA Member February 13, 2017