03 August 2008

Ta-Nehisi Coates

I'm consistently amazed at the coolness of building family. The first two years are drudgery, no doubt. But then it just becomes awesome. ...I'm often surprised by the sheer fun of the whole project. My Dad once told me something that has stuck with me for years. The saddest thing about so many black fathers--and fathers in general--quitting on their kids is that, invaribly, they cheat themselves more than they actually cheat the kid. I've seen a lot of folks turn out fine without knowing their second parent. But the absent parent, permenantly loses that link, that ability to share the things that once excited them, that chance to relive their own childhood with their flesh and blood
- Ta-Nehisi Coates, "the young James Joyce of the hip hop generation."

The Beautiful Struggle (8 minutes):

2 comments:

Cincinnati Therapy Guy said...

I agree - while my ex and I 'manage', my relationship with my kids has been a priority and I wouldn't trade it for anything - what I've learned from them is priceless

Namaste
Dennis

VisuaLingual said...

It's refreshing to hear about the pain and wasted potential of absentee parenthood. Conventional wisdom seems to focus on absentee parents getting away with something and shirking their responsibilities [which are also true].