Eighth grader Jack Rockwell struggles with the pros and cons of growing up without a father.
In a regular family there is a mother and a father, but what happens if there’s no father?
I’ve lived 14 years without my father, and I’m not sure how to feel. I’ve never had someone to say to me, “Man up!” Or had someone come to all my sport games and psych out the other players. I’ve never heard the blasting sounds of the ‘70s in my car. I’ve never had anyone to play catch with or had anyone to whom I could say, “I love you, Dad!” I’ve never built a tree house or a swing set. I’ve never been on an annual fishing trip. I’ve seen my friends with their fathers, throwing a football, playing ping pong, or even taking a walk together. Most of all, I’ve never had “The Talk.”
I have felt that there has always been a hole in my life. I feel like life without a dad is very different from a normal life with a mother and a father. It makes me sad that I will never be able to have that experience. All of the TV shows that I’ve seen portray dads as misguided large children who have to be mothered by their wives, but I know that’s not true.
Even if I don’t have a dad, I’m still grateful for what I do have. I have two loving mothers who care for me and have raised me to who I am today. My moms have tried to fill the hole as best they could.