DON ’ T TAKE IT
PERSONAL . by : Naleighna Kai
Everyone who knows my background understands that I didn ’ t have a father worth writing about , or any man in my life growing up that made an impact . What does that mean ? It means I went looking for love in all the wrong places .
Not having a father meant that I fell for men who told me that they loved me , and not the ones who actually did . Enter a 25-year old man when I was seventeen and didn ’ t understand anything about intimate relationships . I gave birth to my first child two weeks after my nineteenth birthday . And here ’ s where the tango of abandonment , rejection , and betrayal danced its way from me to my only son .
The Late Great Shihan Paul “ Deno ” Thomas My son ’ s Martial Arts Instructor
So , I ’ m the person who feeds my son , put clothes on his back and a roof over his head , and makes sure he has the best education . But guess who my son has an unwavering need to connect with ? The absentee father . The one who had to be dragged into court to do the right thing . The one who spent years as a professional student trying
Chris McKee , my son ’ s “ Big Brother ” From Big Brothers / Big Sisters of Metropolitan Chicago