Father to Son

A father is everything a boy aspires to become. Every movement of the father is under ominous vigilance by his son. He is an invincible figure and nothing can possibly bring him down. A boy’s father is the most influential thing on his innocent, malleable mind. I wonder every moment how different my life would have been if my own dad had been a part of it.

I lived with my mom and dad for about five years of my life and although I don’t remember much, the pictures of me taken then reveal I had been a very content baby. I believe I have a clear perspective on the reasoning behind my parents splitting although their age at the time of my birth appears blatantly to be the only significant argument. Leaving the cool California bay area, my grandparents bore me away to a place in a small town about an hour’s drive north of Sacramento. Here in this new town my grandfather boldly attempted to step up to be my dad.

One of the most important memories I have of growing up in Oroville is my grandpa’s skill at teaching me the most useful things to ever know. By the time I had spent five years in Oroville I could accomplish a diverse amount of tasks ranging from solder copper pipes in the plumbing to fixing my old man’s Chevy pick up. These skills he taught me will aid me tremendously when I have the opportunity to live independently. Now that I recall these memories, it seems as if I grew up in a dream. The landscape, an incomprehensible vision of trees with the deepest shades of green, shining sunlight, and roses of every color consumed all thought with wonder.

My biological dad visited me every so often. Soon my grandparents would have to drive me three hours to my mom’s house in the bay area just to so I could see him. Apparently he had taken up residence in San Francisco and did not have the gas money to drive up to see me. Due to my youthful ignorance I harbored an enormous amount of sympathy for my dad. As I matured and my own father showed no signs of re-entering my life, my sympathy slowly ebbed away. All contact had ended between us and he became nothing more than a memory.

Only after the long, arduous relocation to Tucson, did I at last come to realize my father would never become an important person to me. All the successes in school, day-to-day activities, and victories in fights are all solely due to my grandparents. Even as my thought dwells on the notion of me living with my mother and father, I question whether they could care for me as well as my grandparents did. Without any of their help I’d be back in the Stone Age. I swear, when I graduate medical school I’m going to send my grandparents off to the most breathtaking cruises every day until they pass away.