Latest / RealTalkwithMikeD / Episode 12 - Single Father

Transcript

Episode 12 - Single Father · RealTalkwithMikeD

• 0:01
  Speaker 1: Welcome to Real Talk with Mike D. Okay, welcome back
• 0:07
  Speaker 1: to Real Talk with Mike D. I am Mike D.
• 0:12
  Speaker 1: And today we're going to talk about life the way
• 0:14
  Speaker 1: it really is. No pretending. No sugarcoating. Just real conversations
• 0:20
  Speaker 1: about real life. And today I want to talk about
• 0:24
  Speaker 1: something that's very close to my heart. Being a single father.
• 0:28
  Speaker 1: Being a dad is one of the greatest things in
• 0:30
  Speaker 1: the world. But being a single dad, that's a whole
• 0:34
  Speaker 1: different kind of responsibility. Because when you're single, sometimes you're
• 0:39
  Speaker 1: not just the dad. You're the person making the decisions.
• 0:43
  Speaker 1: You're the one trying to keep everything together. You're the
• 0:47
  Speaker 1: one working, paying bills, making sure there's food in the refrigerator,
• 0:51
  Speaker 1: making sure your kids are okay, and trying to figure
• 0:54
  Speaker 1: out how you're going to handle everything that's coming at
• 0:58
  Speaker 1: And sometimes you do all that while nobody sees how
• 1:01
  Speaker 1: tired you really are. Being a single father means wearing
• 1:05
  Speaker 1: a lot of different hats. You're the dad. You're the provider.
• 1:10
  Speaker 1: You're the person your kids look to when something goes wrong.
• 1:14
  Speaker 1: Sometimes you're the cook. Sometimes you're the taxi driver. Sometimes
• 1:19
  Speaker 1: you're the person helping with homework. And sometimes you're the
• 1:22
  Speaker 1: person giving advice. And sometimes you're simply the person sitting
• 1:27
  Speaker 1: there listening when your child needs somebody. And here's the thing.
• 1:31
  Speaker 1: You don't always feel like you know what you're doing.
• 1:35
  Speaker 1: There are nights when you probably wonder, am I doing enough?
• 1:39
  Speaker 1: Am I being a good father? Am I giving my
• 1:42
  Speaker 1: kids everything they need? And I think a lot of
• 1:46
  Speaker 1: fathers have those thoughts, whether they admit it or not.
• 1:50
  Speaker 1: But I've learned something. Being a good father doesn't mean
• 1:54
  Speaker 1: being a perfect father. Your kids don't need perfection. They
• 1:58
  Speaker 1: need you. They need your presence. They need your love.
• 2:04
  Speaker 1: They need to know that when life gets difficult, they
• 2:07
  Speaker 1: have somebody in their corner. One of the hardest parts
• 2:12
  Speaker 1: of being a single father can be the pressure to provide.
• 2:16
  Speaker 1: There's a certain responsibility that comes with knowing that your
• 2:19
  Speaker 1: children are depending on you. The bills don't stop. The
• 2:23
  Speaker 1: rent or mortgage doesn't stop. The electric bill does not stop.
• 2:29
  Speaker 1: The car payment doesn't stop. And neither do responsibilities of
• 2:33
  Speaker 1: being a dad. Sometimes you might be exhausted after work,
• 2:37
  Speaker 1: but you still have responsibilities waiting for you at home.
• 2:43
  Speaker 1: And you can't just say, I'm too tired today because
• 2:45
  Speaker 1: your kids still need dinner. They still need attention. They
• 2:49
  Speaker 1: still need you. And that's where single fathers learn something
• 2:53
  Speaker 1: about themselves. You discover strength you didn't know you had.
• 2:59
  Speaker 1: You get tired. You get frustrated. You might even feel overwhelmed.
• 3:04
  Speaker 1: But somehow you keep going because somebody is counting on you.
• 3:11
  Speaker 1: I love that part. Because someone is counting on you.
• 3:18
  Speaker 1: When you're a single father, you have nobody to depend
• 3:21
  Speaker 1: on except yourself. When you're married and have a significant other,
• 3:27
  Speaker 1: two incomes, somebody's always there to help. But being a
• 3:35
  Speaker 1: single father is definitely a lot harder than people think
• 3:42
  Speaker 1: it really is. So that's going to do it for today.
• 3:48
  Speaker 1: I really hope everybody enjoyed this. I really appreciate you
• 3:55
  Speaker 1: all being here. And I appreciate you listening. I appreciate
• 4:01
  Speaker 1: your time. You all have a wonderful evening. Be kind
• 4:04
  Speaker 1: to each other. And I will see you in the
• 4:07
  Speaker 1: next one. Thank you.