Being a pāpā has been a great gift. The depth of love and joy my son has brought into my life is out of this world and I’m often lost for words when I try to process how much he means to me.
There have been special moments and also testing times but what I have come to realise is that my responsibility as a father is to model attributes that will support my boy's development.
It’s crazy to think how much has happened in his short life. From basically being a potato where he couldn’t do anything but eat and sleep to now running around, getting into everything and creating a personality for himself.
It is not the parent who teaches the child, it is the child who teaches the parent
They teach you love
They teach you patience
They teach you presence
Fatherhood has been a journey of guidance but also self discovery
Since having a child of my own there is a deeper sense of gratitude for my parents and my own upbringing. I’ve spent time reflecting and as a kid there is no awareness of what goes into being raised but now being in their shoes I understand more clearly that I got it good under the circumstances my mum and dad had.
What I’ve experienced and learnt I can now implement in the hopes that it provides a solid base for my son to build upon and my higher hope is that he will always know and feel the endless love and pride I have for him.
I look forward to asking my son how he would like to receive love from pāpā
It will give clarity
It will spark deeper conversations
It will show that I care in a different way
We often show love how we think it will be best received but perhaps it’s not what is needed
Fatherhood is a journey and life altering. All effort going into raising a child, giving to the marriage and being the provider comes with pressure that can be overwhelming but it is the love for my family that inspires me to keep going.
Highest of gratitude to the māmā who are holding it down and largely carrying the weight of parenthood. Y'all are the real MVP's and backbone of the whanau. The role we have in our babies lives is significant so let's aspire to be better and for them to be better than us!
Big bless,
Ranz
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