Fathers Call

Probably shouldn't have been there, but I took the kids out for a little night time ride on the bikes, while we are on holidays. I heard a raised voice, and found the source at the public phone box, just where my son decided to do slalem around the poles, extending our time nearby. I hurried us on, not wanting to intrude on this man's conversation, but not before I heard him say forcefully that “I could easily jump off a bridge, I am feeling that bad – but I wont do that....” before we rode off.
It made me sick to think of his situation, and it is not a feeling I am unfamiliar with. Was this man a single Dad, arguing about how his life has changed through seperation, with his ex wife? I don't know, but did leap to that conclusion. Even if I was wrong, the incident had me thinking of the men that are out there, just bereft, confused, and alone. Men do not always have the means to communicate their needs and fears, encumbered as they can be with an old male standard of strength. But that standard does not help them much faced with the loss of their family.
Perhaps it can be easy to write off another's feelings, or undermine them, because of some wrongs they have does us, but these men are still the father of our children. A child's idea of men, their roles as parents and partners, all go toward their development into healthy, happy individuals. Supporting fathers is an important way to support our kids.