It’s Good Friday and I’m home alone anticipating an afternoon of snacking and biblical film watching. Biblical films may not bring warmth to everyone’s crib, heart or mind but I like them; I always have. I flick the channels in the hope of seeing Charlton Heston win a bloody chariot race when I come across another man who is just as impressive and bold. The Rock may not be a cinematic legend to all film junkies but I couldn’t help but be drawn into his charmingly enticing film ‘The Game Plan’.
Essentially, this is a film about The Rock (Dwayne Johnson) building a once lost relationship with his daughter and how he teaches her to be strong and never give up without trying her best. Very funny in parts and emotional in others, I grabbed the tissue box more than once. It got me thinking how important fathers are and the role they have which can be dismissed or not recognised as an intrinsic part of a son or daughters evolving life.
Whom ever coined the phrase, ‘be careful what you wish for’ really knew what they were talking about and my wish to watch a story about a father wasn’t exactly what I was expecting but its underlying message was just as important. We all know the worth of mothers and the bond that developes from the womb but I do feel that fathers are left a little to one side once their baby making duties are fulfilled.
It’s true that some are useless, absolutely useless in fact and I have seen at first hand the damage they cause because they are not ready to change, even for a life that they created. I have to say that I have experienced this type of father so when I see others who are totally committed to their children yet receive no mention, I feel it is time for them to be put on as high a pedestal as all mothers are.
The lessons, values and life-skills a father can teach their child are immeasurable and the time they spend doing so builds a special relationship which not only enhances a child’s confidence but also makes them aware that they are loved unconditionally without prejudice or judgement. Always there, always patient, knowing that their duty is to create grounded and self-assured adults.
With so many temptations and outside forces like the evil child catcher ready to pounce, a fathers role is more important now than ever before. Not all couples who create future generations make it, this is no excuse for a father to be any less involved. Stepping up, even on the hostile ground of a break-up really separates the men from the boys.
No parent should find themselves praying for the souls of their children, no parent should see their child in darkness and no child should suffer because of the sins of their father. Thanks to a wrestle mania giant, believe it or not, there was one message from ‘The Game Plan’ which stuck out further than his biceps; you man up not give up!
© Michelle Sotiriou 2015
She Be Fierce 