My dear friend lost her husband recently. They have three children. Including those three kiddos, I now personally know seven children who have lost their fathers. SEVEN. And all of them under the age of thirteen.
That’s crazy, right? It’s not just me who thinks that’s crazy?
My daughter was just a little over two years old when her dad died of cancer. The very same day he died (03/31/2013), another friend’s husband died, also of cancer. They were raising their granddaughter together (she still is), so he was absolutely a father to that child. My baby and their baby were both made half-orphans that day.
(As a side note: that day just happened to be Easter Sunday. Easter is on a different fucking day every year. So we get to remember that awful day twice every year. Just for shits.)
Whether it was cancer, an accident, or addiction that took these men out of their kids’ lives, I can’t help but feel this is an epidemic. So many babies without their daddies. I said “half-orphan” to my village the other day, then wondered “Is that a real thing?” And yes, it’s totally a real thing. Children with only one living parent are considered half-orphans.
You know what’s even crazier? It’s so commonplace in my world, that now I don’t even think it’s all that crazy.
I need a drink.
Cheers.
Mommy Needs A Dirty Martini 