Often circumstances develop in such a way that one of the parents has to raise the kids alone. More often, such an unpleasant story happens with women who are abandoned by boyfriends or even husbands. But sometimes men become “victims” of twists of fate.
21-year-old American Richard Johnson was abandoned by a girl. Everything was fine until she became a mother. Just a month after giving birth, Johnson’s girlfriend didn’t just leave home, she left her baby behind. The 21-year-old father admits that a depressive time has come in his life, but this is not a reason not to raise a little daughter. A man after eight months of “loneliness” decided to tell on Facebook how difficult it is to raise a baby alone.
“My name is Richard Johnson and I am a single parent raising a beautiful baby named Persephone. Her mother left us a month after giving birth. We still don’t understand why this happened. I was just afraid of being a father, but being a father raising a child alone was even scarier. And I became one: I now play two roles – mother and father, and I’m not sure that I’m doing everything right.
I’ve bought books about babies and spent thousands of hours on YouTube just to get a glimpse of how to change diapers. Then I started to sit more on parent forums and realized that it turns out, there are quite a lot of fathers in the communities with the same story as mine. My parents support me too,” Richard began his message.
The young man says that his girlfriend has gone to California to start a new life. Johnson admits that a friend was going to have an abortion, but Richard dissuaded her. At first, she changed her mind and even agreed that the baby should have been left, but after giving birth she was convinced that she did not need children.
“At first, when I was alone, I became depressed. It was hard for me to see the happy couples I met on the street. I wanted to find someone who is in a similar situation to me. And I found such stories. They inspired me and step by step I returned to normal life, ”continues Johnson.
Later, Johnson became friends with a girl who is also raising a six-month-old child alone. They do not meet, but have become friends: they support each other and share their upbringing experience.
“Before, I had never been surrounded by children. I didn’t know anything about girls, I don’t know what to do with their hair and so on. I started asking friends and they helped me. My daughter has not yet grown long hair, but I already know how to do some hairstyles.
I’m ready. My biggest fear is that the time will come when I will have to explain to her what happened to my mother, and I hope that Persiphone will not be angry. She always laughs when I look at her. She is my best friend, the time will come, and I will tell her everything, ”concluded Richard.
Johnson also asked not to condemn his ex-girlfriend, who did so. She wanted to have an abortion, and she didn’t want children. Despite the fact that Richard himself was not ready for parental responsibilities, he did not want to kill the baby and is now happy that he has a daughter.
