MarriedSingleDad
noun, compound word
1. A father who, although married and (optionally) living with his wife (his child’s mother), essentially raises the child on his own due to the mother’s disinterest, inability, or incompetence in parenting.
In a perfect world, parents would be partners in raising their children, especially if they are in a committed relationship and living in the same home. But for many reasons, one parent can essentially be a “single parent” in such a situation. Illness, career demands and ambitions, or a simple lack of interest can leave one parent carrying most of the load of parenthood.
My only child, a daughter, was born in 1990 into my shaky marriage. This blog isn’t about the marriage issues, or casting stones at my ex-wife, so I won’t go into detail, but it became obvious that by the time my daughter was 4, her mother was not a very active parent, so both the burden and joy of parenthood fell mostly to me.
Fast forward to 2005. Despite counseling and other interventions, the marriage was a lost cause. My daughter and I moved out and the divorce was finalized on my birthday of that year.
So, this blog will focus on my relationship with my daughter as a “single dad” even though I was married for her first 15 years. There may be entries that have to include some reference to her mother but the purpose here is not to recount the drama of a failing marriage. I may also offer stories about my relationship with my own dad, or things of dad-interest in general.
I hope these stories will encourage dads of all kinds, whether married, single, or singlemarried.
You can contact me by email at hello@marriedsingledad.com.
Also, you can see my photography here: BrightStudio.com
Thanks for visiting!
-Darryl