I Am DaddyYo: Hear Me Growl

Okay, normally I would be posting on The DaddyYo Dude: UNFILTERED! right now, but I have decided to variate from my normal schedule a little bit this week. Have you ever had a time where you just felt you had to say something? That something comes up, and no matter the outcome, no matter the response, you just have to say it? This is one of those posts.

I appreciate all of my followers and all of my readers here on the blog. I have gotten to "know" so many of you and you are all GREAT people. I have met dads, moms, tech gurus, PR people, computer whizzes, and average joes like me. I have had the pleasure of e-mailing with you, tweeting with you, and even talking on the phone with a lot of you. You people rock my socks and I am honored to call you friends.

When it comes to writing the blogs, I value your input greatly. We discuss topics, we celebrate, we cry, and we laugh. I have even asked a few of you to proof read for me when The Wifey isn't around to help me out. I get good feedback, bad feedback. Criticisms and praises. I listen to all suggestions, and I do take a lot of it to heart. Opinions mean a lot to a lot of people. They can build you up and destroy you. Most of the time, it is all about how you take it. I have taken many opinions in many different ways.

However, there is one opinion I will never ask you for, and really, would not care what your response was. It is an opinion that only means something to me coming from The Wifey, Mom, Dad, and Sis. That is the opinion of what kind of dad I am.

Let me bring this around a little: Long story short, after a conversation last night I had a lot on my mind. I felt that who I was as a person, and as a dad, were being challenged. Superficial comments that rattled me to my core and boiled frustration out of my every pore. This post is more or less my response to an individual, and to my feelings as well.

I can't say whether or not I am a good dad. But I assure you, my family will speak for me. More importantly, my children will show it. I do not need the opinion of any other man or woman on the face of the planet. My children will speak for what kind of dad I am through action. My children's health, their well being, their happiness and fondness, it will ALL show for what kind of dad John T is. To be told that society's perception of me is a direct reflection on every other dad in the world is just plain stupid. Let me just throw this question out: Is the dad who kisses away tears after a child sustains a boo boo reflecting the dad who uses a baby as a shield from the barrel of a police shotgun? Is the sick twisted man who rapes HIS OWN DAUGHTER a reflection of the dad who lays down his life to save that of his children?

Also, to be told that the opinion of others is everything? Pardon me, but no, no it's not. I grew up in a family that understood and embraced individuality. All throughout my school years I wore many different shoes, many different hats, and many different coats. Though my parents did not really like the black and white plaid jacket with the zippers, they let me do my thing. There was no less love because of it. I want my children to understand that many different people will say many different things about them. But that will not matter. They are who they are, as THEMSELVES. They are beautiful , they are wonderful, and they are great, just as who they are. They will be whoever they will be, and I will ALWAYS love them without condition. I will not love them any less than the day I first laid eyes on them.

I will step down off of my soapbox now. I appreciate all of you who are still reading at this point. I am not making a personal attack on anybody. I am not here to judge, and I am not here to put you down. It was just one of those things that I just had to write about, and I had to tell it like it is. You can call me what you want. You can think of me whatever you want to think. When it comes to certain things, you can scream it in my ear, and I will not even grant you the pleasure of a passing glance. I know who I am. I know what kind of dad I am. My children will speak to that, and I will speak for me. I am DaddyYo! HEAR ME GROWL!