Have I Been Fathered Well?

To my father and all fathers, fathering even in the midst of criticism and nonsense My parents. Senior Prom. My photo of their photo. 2026 ©Tremaine L. Loadholt Teenage parenting couldn’t havebeen easy.What were you thinking when Icame along?Your first child—a girl, mirror imageof you in a tiny body…The community practice baby,Trial-and-error baby,First model of how to get itright and wrong.That’s a lot of pressure forsomeone who’d justbroken away from his ownmother’s home a year before.You did it.In your own way, you fatheredme in the shadows ofspirited descendants showingyou paths of least resistance.You fathered me when youwanted to give up, andwhen street basketballshould’ve been more important.You fathered me without theknowledge of who I’d become…Strong-willedOpinionatedOpen-mindedQUEERDivorce cracked our foundation,but it could never rupture ourwalls.You still are the first man Iever loved, and you’llprobably be the last.My home away from home…if my heart aches and Ineed a…