Queens, New York

jerryjacques@hotmail.com

Fatherhood

When does fatherhood begin? Is it when the baby is born or while it is developing in the womb? It doesn’t matter. What truly matters is being present in the fullest sense of the word. Father’s Day has come and gone. This year, it fell just over a month after my son’s first birthday. So, it’s my second Father’s Day with him in the outside world. There is so much to reflect upon regarding what has transpired so far. But I will limit these reflections to two areas where I’ve encountered challenges. This is fatherhood in 2023. Time for Another One?Before

Life with Polo is a series detailing my experience as a father. The first part of the series can be found here. It was the morning of September 3, 2022. I was asleep. Perhaps I was having one of those dreams that I usually don’t remember when I was suddenly awakened by my new somewhat sporadic alarm. Polo was moving around in his June bed - what we call his bassinet in honor of a beloved friend. The sounds were that of one who had enough and wanted to feel the embrace of one of the two people he