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
Cameras give law enforcement a leg up
Main, News, Russellville, ...
Kevin Taylor For the FCT 
March 25, 2026
RUSSELLVILLE – Police Chief Chris Hargett was at a conference in 2020 and while passing by some of the vendors there, he noticed one promoting a camer...
Defense project has public, vets ‘excited’
Main, News, Z - News Main
By Brady Petree and Addi Broadfoot 
March 25, 2026
BARTON— The queue of people clamoring to get into the Hadrian facility on Friday was lined down the sidewalk as members of the public and military vet...
Flanagan enjoys romance book cover modeling
Main, News, Phil Campbell, ...
María Camp maria.camp@franklincountytimes.com 
March 25, 2026
PHIL CAMPBELL — What started as a few comedy videos on TikTok has grown into a career that has taken Andrew Flanagan from a welding job to romance nov...
Still waiting for rural ambulance answers
Columnists, Opinion
March 25, 2026
Rural Alabama has been waiting decades for access to affordable health services — and despite the empty promises of a bill funneling millions of dolla...
GFWC focuses on Alzheimer’s
Columnists, Opinion
HERE AND NOW
March 25, 2026
The GFWC Book Lovers Study Club focused on Alzheimer’s awareness during its March meeting at Russellville First Baptist Church. Alzheimer’s disease gr...
Pitching is key focus for Patriots
College Sports, Sports
By Brady Petree For the FCT 
March 25, 2026
The 2024-25 collegiate baseball season was a solid one for the Northwest Shoals Community College Patriots and head coach David Langston knows what it...
Patriots build on strengths for fourth season
College Sports, Sports
By Addi Broadfoot For the FCT 
March 25, 2026
The softball program at Northwest-Shoals Community College continues to grow as it enters its fourth season since being relaunched. Head coach Angel B...
RHS boys soccer aiming for state run
B: Spring Sports, High School Sports, Russellville Golden Tigers, ...
By Addi Broadfoot For the FCT 
March 25, 2026
RUSSELLVILLE — The boys soccer team is off to a strong start this season and is aiming for a deep playoff run. Coach Larsen Plyler said the team has t...

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published.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