This is gonna be my first series. (Yay! Milestone!). And it was brought about by the emotional high I hit recently by discovering things about my ancestry that I had never known.
Let me say first off that I don't expect this to be an easy ride for everyone. I have a dear friend who at age 26 has no idea who her father is. I'm not sure if her mom doesn't know or simply won't tell.
Needless to say for people like herself, the very title of this series could be quite painful to read.
I know my daddy. And for that I am truly grateful cos I cannot imagine what life would have been without that knowledge. Knowing him is a thing I took for granted until recently - which I believe is as it should be.
I know my father is the last child of a one-time Balogun of Ibadan. I know he literally went to a private school (his dad set it up so he could school at home). I know he lost his dad at age 7. I know life in that polygamous family was never the same after that.
How relevant is this knowledge to me? VERY. Understanding the forces that shaped my dad helped me appreciate the man. It helped me love the man in spite of the man. It helped me see his mistakes as just that - mistakes.
It saved me from hate and allowed love to blossom. And trust me, I had my fair share of reasons to hate him. Knowing his past helped me appreciate his present and to some extent, my future.
So I ask you: How well do you know the man that fathered you? Who's your daddy?
3 comments:
My father is the biggest Nollywood producer/director in Nigeria even though he keeps a relatively low profile. He was one of the pioneers of the industry, but he doesn't know me. He knows of me, if he still remembers, but he knows nothing about me.
Moresthepity.
~Sugabelly Speaks~
You I didn't get it when you said so before. Now I do. Gawd, girl. How do you handle that?
Very well said.
Nice blog :)
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