A father's day story

  • Published
  • By Airman Allison Boehm
  • 2d Bomb Wing Public Affairs
BARKSDALE AIR FORCE BASE, La. --  "Mommy's away at work, she'll be home soon," he reassuringly tells his daughter, hoping to alleviate her pain. For now, Senior Airman Michael Parrott focuses all of his efforts on playing the role of mother and father. 

Airman Parrott is raising his two children while his wife, Taquoya, is deployed. "Being a single parent is hard work, it's a full time job on its own," said Airman Parrott as his grip securely tightened around his son. "It keeps me going after a long day that I am doing the right thing. I took care of them, I made sure they were well fed, well groomed, and well taken care of," said the doting father as he watched his daughter finish her breakfast. 

"That keeps me going, knowing that I did what I was supposed to do and didn't skip any steps in taking care of them." 

"It is hard to describe in words how I felt when they were born. It hits me as, wow I am a father now and I have another life to worry about other than my own. My mindset changed about life and sacrifices just realizing that they are more important than myself," he said. 

After completing a full day at work, Airman Parrott, the assistant official mail manager for Barksdale Air Force Base, then goes home to another full time job, taking care of his children. "I usually get home around 5p.m.," he said. His son is ready to go to bed around 6 p.m. and sleeps through the night. "For the rest of the night I play with my daughter." They watch her favorite show together and get ready for bed around 10 p.m. "She likes to read books, so I will read her a book of her choice before she goes to sleep," he said. 

Weekends are more hectic, Airman Parrott added. "My son wakes me up bright and early at 6 a.m.," he said as he leaned forward to wipe his brow. "After I feed him I sit with him and watch television until my daughter wakes me up around 7 a.m. Once she wakes up, I feed her and get her dressed and ready for the day." 

"I have had quite a few moments where I felt like I was going to break down. I have never actually done it. It's just an overwhelming feeling. When one is crying, they both cry and all the problems just storm down on you at any given time," he said after taking in a deep breath as if reliving a past overwhelming moment. 

"I've found that the hardest thing to do without my wife is balancing a full day. Getting them fed, bathed, and clothed. It becomes difficult to manage when I have three people to get ready. It seems as though it's a race against the clock when I have something to do," said Airman Parrott. 

Although he doesn't get much free time, Airman Parrott still finds ways to handle the stressful situations. "I try to slow down, they [moments where I feel like I am going to break down] always come when I am trying to rush and get things done quickly. I pace myself and take things one step at a time and make sure everything gets done on time and in the right way." 

"I realize that they are more important than me. They come first, their well-being comes before my welfare," said Airman Parrott as he sat up straighter, taking pride in his role as dad.