Part 2 — A Father’s Fight to Stay Present
Four days a month.
Four days to teach, love, guide, and influence a little boy who looks to me for everything.
How do you build a childhood in four days?
I’m a present father limited by circumstance. Not by choice. Not by effort. And the weight of that reality is something only dads in this position truly understand. Staying present isn’t just about showing up physically—it’s about carrying the emotional weight when you’re forced to be absent more than you’re allowed to be there.
You Don’t Have to Be Perfect — You Just Have to Keep Showing UpFrom the Dads Don’t Fold Series
After losing my mother, brother, partner, home—and the version of myself I thought would last forever—I learned something nobody tells you:
Standing up from the ashes is one thing.
Learning how to live again is another.
This chapter isn’t about the collapse.
It’s about what comes after:
The silence. The fight to stay present.
The weight fathers carry quietly.
It’s about showing up for your kids—even when you're still rebuilding yourself.
Because we don’t need to be perfect.
We just have to keep showing up.