Pound Pup Legacy

When I was little, I used to carry a picture of my Adad with me.  He gave me this picture when I went for my first sleep-over at my grandmother's house.  It was a photo taken of himself when he was in the Army, and in this picture he was as handsome as handsome could be.  Full black hair, sheepish grin, Army uniform... it was the photo I would look at when I missed "home".

My amother was the one who wanted to adopt me, but it was my dad who used to take care of me.  While she was always in bed depressed about something, he and I would go out, just to escape.  We both liked the same things, and laughed at the same stupid stuff... being with him was fun and easy, even if nothing around us was.

As I grew older, I became more aware how much he needed our relationship to be strong.  He needed the sort of love and companion that did not judge or complain about his choices.  I was his always-agreeable- side-kick, who couldn't get enough of a daddy who wanted me around.

That changed when I was in my twenties.  I told him why I could not be around my amother anymore.  He understood my pain, (because of the abuse/trauma involved), but he begged me not to go.  He needed me, because I kept him away from his misery.

As luck would have it, he found a new replacement, and proved to me he no longer wanted or needed me.  [I caused too much trouble.]   Over the years I found that I have lost all respect for the dad I once so deeply loved. 

For all who are considering adoption as a future option: please do not adopt because you feel a void and think a child will complete you or your "incomplete family".  Find a hobby or a pet, not a child, to fill in the missing pieces of your life.  After all, those things can be easily replaced, without any of the heartbreak.