Article for BSFG – Jay-Z on Fatherhood
In the December issue of GQ magazine, Man of the Year and expectant father, Jay-Z reflects on his childhood and the relationship he had with his dad. The rap mogul brings up a couple of thought-provoking points on what really matters to a child, and whether it’s better to have a dad for a while or not at all.
When Jay-Z was 11-years old, his father left him and the family. He claims, “If your dad died before you were born, yeah, it hurts—but it’s not like you had a connection with something that was real. Not to say it’s any better—but to have that connection and then have it ripped away was, like, the worst.”
Regarding the eternal struggle of trying to find a balance between providing for your family and spending quality time Jay-Z offers, “Providing – that’s not love. Being there – that’s more important.”
I’d question the real differences between the amount of pain a kid goes through with the loss of a known parent and the amount suffered by a child who never knows either one or both of their parents. I happen to be somewhere in between these poor choices and I tend to think that having a father in your life – if only for a brief time – is far better than never knowing your father at all.
My dad was gone before my first birthday and he was always just a peripheral figure. He really had no important place in my life, nor did he seem to want one. I would see him maybe once or twice a year, usually for one of the ‘big two’ holidays, Thanksgiving and Christmas and occasionally the end of summer, school shopping experience– which consisted of a trip to the mall, getting about $200 worth of clothes, having an awkward lunch and then back home to wonder when I might see him again.
Read the rest at Baby Shower For Guys
http://babyshowerforguys.com/home/content/article?id=52
