The Triforce of Fatherhood

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By Michael

I hold the power of the Fatherhood Triforce.

For those unaware; the Triforce is an artifact from Nintendo’s The Legend of Zelda, and consists of three separate pieces: The Triforce of Power, of Courage, and of Wisdom, and is considered the ultimate source of power.

My ultimate power; my fatherhood; comes from three distinct pieces:

My Son – My Triforce of Strength

My son, while unplanned, has never and will never be seen, thought of, or considered a mistake in any world of thought.  Conceived on what essentially was a one night stand with a woman I had dated for a few weeks months prior, he has been the proof that I can make it through to the other end of anything.  I knew I wanted to be a father, but my first foray into fatherhood was anything but what I imagined.  Unable to bond with him, not seeing him until but a handful of times the first year of his life.  He didn’t even have my last name until he was nearly 11 months old.

But I have fought to be his father since the first time he took a breath in the world.  I have always struggled to keep my footing, but have never and will never back down.

My Daughter – My Triforce of Heart

My daughter was a bit more of your typical type of situation.  I was married and had a child with my wife.  A textbook father-daughter relationship from the get-go.  She’s had my number from day 1.  Able to read me and know me in ways no one else could or should, even without understanding what she was doing.  She was my sidekick every day until her Mother moved out and my world crumbled around me.  The pain of separation from another child, only this time one I had bonded with and was with every single day of her life for her first 4 years was no less intense than the one I felt with her older brother, only from a different perspective.  I went from every day to every other weekend, and she became a child of divorce, yet through it all, she has always been my heart.  Healing the old and new breaks, and knowing her Dad in and out.  Forever her Daddy’s girl.

The Oncoming Son – My Triforce of Wisdom

Having a child that I’ve only ever known through a court-ordered visitation, and a child that I share custody with (both live around an hour away from me, in opposite directions) only amplifies in every way what I have with upcoming Baby #3 with my adoring wife. A baby son, who I will get to see and hold every day.  Who I will get to be around and bond with.  A child who’s every milestone and moment I’ll be a part of, and who may never realize or understand how incredibly important the parts his siblings will have on his life.  The wisdom I’ve gained from his older brother and sister makes “cherish every moment” into an emphatic understatement.

Each piece of my Triforce can stand on its own.  Possessing its own unique power.  Distinct from the others, while strengthening and being strengthened by the other two, all while being 1/3 of the whole.  The whole of me.  The whole of my fatherhood and the reason I’m called Dad.

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