Columnists, Opinion
 By  Melissa Cason Published 
7:58 am Wednesday, June 23, 2010

Thanks to all the dads

We celebrated Father’s Day at our house this week like everyone else. It’s a day to honor our fathers for all the sacrifices they have made for us growing.

When I was a child, I didn’t really realize how hard raising kids was. I just figured being a grown up meant I could do whatever I please without consequences or responsibility.  Boy was I wrong.

After we had Jordan, I began to see how much having children changed our lives.  We planned to have a baby, but nobody is completely ready to have a baby. They just think they are.

While having your own children is great, some people are raising someone else’s children.

I know the man I call dad isn’t my biological father. My biological father lives in Atlanta. I was 14 the first time I remember meeting him.

He and my mom divorced when I was very young. Robert didn’t remember him either.

Our step-dad is the only father we have ever really known. We always knew he wasn’t our biological father, but we loved our dad very much anyway.

After all he was the one who made the sacrifices to raise us with our mother. He had his own children, but he always treated Robert and me just like his own.

To this day, we call this man dad, and our stepbrother and stepsister are not considered steps to us. They are our brother and sister.

I do talk to my biological father from time to time. I don’t really have a relationship with him because it takes more than biology to make a father.

My dad was always there for me. He was there when I was three and had a nightmare. He was there when I went on my first date. He was there when I got engaged. He was there when I got married, and he was there when each of my children were born.

The point I am trying to make is he was there. My biological father was not. Biology doesn’t make you a parent.

Love for your children makes you a parent. Without that love and all the sacrifices that go with it, everything else is just genetics.

So for all you dads out there who are raising children whom are not yours biologically, I want to say thank you because without men like you, I would not be the woman I am today.

Also on Franklin County Times
Suspect’s boyfriend held without bond
Main, News, Russellville, ...
By Brady Petree For the FCT 
May 6, 2026
RUSSELLVILLE — A 26-year-old Georgia man charged with dozens of counts ranging from sodomy to producing and disseminating child pornography will remai...
Judge grants attorney’s request to withdraw
Main, News, Russellville, ...
By Brady Petree For the FCT 
May 6, 2026
RUSSELLVILLE — Brandy Dowdy’s original attorney will no longer be part of her case moving forward. Birmingham-based attorney Jessica Bugge filed a mot...
Vina spends $50K to upgrade park
Franklin County, Main, News, ...
María Camp maria.camp@franklincountytimes.com 
May 6, 2026
VINA — Mayor Sue Raper said concerns about deteriorating playground equipment at the park helped spark a broader effort to improve and beautify the to...
Higgins celebrates 100th birthday
News, Russellville
María Camp maria.camp@franklincountytimes.com 
May 6, 2026
RUSSELLVILLE — Eunice Greenhill Higgins celebrated her 100th birthday April 26 with a gathering of more than 70 relatives, friends and others at the F...
Vets clean park at county archives
News, Russellville
María Camp maria.camp@franklincountytimes.com 
May 6, 2026
RUSSELLVILLE — Members of VFW Post 5184 gathered Saturday at the Franklin County Archives to clean the Veterans Park located outside the building. Cle...
State’s outdoors is key to economic growth
Columnists, Opinion
May 6, 2026
From the mountains of the Tennessee Valley to the shores of the Gulf Coast, and everything inbetween, our state is second to none in the country when ...
Book Lovers Club honored at state
News, Russellville
HERE AND NOW
May 6, 2026
Members of Russellville’s GFWC Book Lovers Study Club joined clubwomen from across Alabama for the 131st annual GFWC Alabama Federation of Women’s Clu...

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *