We're convinced that single parents are some of the world's most magical people. Raising a child in pairs is hard enough, doing it alone can seem downright impossible. Still, single parents continue to pull through for their kids, sometimes in very creative ways.
But even the simple moments are special, as Tiana Sheehan wrote in a post about her dad on Facebook.
Sheehan was in a drug store when she saw a mother and daughter buying the girl's first razor.
"I felt that little punch in the gut that I normally feel when I see a mom and daughter doing mom and daughter things. I can't help it," she wrote.
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It has been 14 years since her mom died, but seeing someone else with their mom still makes her sad and jealous, she wrote. This time, though, it made her giggle because she remembered a special moment with her dad. She shared the story with the Love What Matters Facebook page.
"I'll never forget the look on my dad's face when I told him I wanted to shave my legs," she wrote. "It was the summer after mom died and some of the girls I went to summer camp with started teasing me about my hairy legs. I remember coming up to dad and being so embarrassed to ask him for help, but man, did he handle it like a champ!"
Although he seemed embarrassed and maybe a little out-of-his-depth at first, her dad pulled through.
"He turned the TV off, took me into the bathroom, gave me a new blade on his razor, gave me his shaving cream, and taught me how to shave my legs."
We'll forgive Sheehan's adolescent friends for the body hair shaming for just a moment. After all, it was 13 years ago and most women weren't quite as outspoken about and proud of their body hair, yet.
The focus here is on a simple thing this man did for his daughter, instead of shutting down and pushing the responsibility on the nearest woman. Sheehan used the story to call for more love for single parents like her dad.
"There was never a time in my childhood where I truly thought I was missing out on anything. My dad was so good at fulfilling both roles and making sure my childhood was as normal as possible; that there was never a time I thought Life or God had screwed me over. My dad handled everything: periods, shaving, broken hearts, catty girlfriends--you name it and my dad took it like a champ."
Sharing the story was her way of publicly thanking her dad for "never, ever, ever being too much of a man to be my mom."
We'd like to extend that thank you to single parents of all genders who are killing the game, and making sure their kids are happy, healthy, and loved.