A Father's Plight
“That is the thankless position of the father in the family - the provider for all, and the enemy of all.” –J. August Strindberg First of all, I've had to come to terms with the fact that this is going to be a marathon. The past year has mostly felt like a bad dream, I've felt like an alien wandering around on a strange, unfriendly planet. Nothing made sense any more. Suddenly, I was engaged in a fight between the forces of Good and the forces of Evil. Or at least it has felt that way many times. Few who have experienced the love for a child will argue that it is the purest, truest form of love that one can ever feel. Going through a pregnancy, childbirth, and caring for a fragile little creature that depends on you completely for his very survival is an indescribable, other-wordly right of passage. Giving birth to a child is the most basic and fundamental act that defines and connects existence for all living organisms (that I can think of). And a species that does does not r...