I was six years old when I had my first memory with my father. Growing up, I didn’t really know too much about my father other than the fact that he lived really far away. I lived with my mom and stepdad. I was always really attached to my mom while growing up, and I still am now. She gave me a sense of security that I didn’t get with anyone else.

It was Christmas time when my mom told me that my father was coming all the way from Texas to visit. As a kid I liked to sleep on the couch so that I could be near the Christmas tree.

So, the day he came to the house and my mom announced that he’d arrived, I decided that I would hide underneath my pink and blue Hannah Montana comforter to avoid him seeing me.

Finally I heard him enter our living room and I felt someone sit down at the end of the couch. I remained underneath until the blanket was pulled off of me and I was embraced in a very sudden and unexpected hug. “Hey beautiful, I missed you.” I didn’t reply. I knew he was my father, but it was sIuch an unfamiliar feeling, I couldn’t help but think, “Who is this person?”

I was at the age where I did understand what was going on and I was aware that I may have been hurting his feelings. But he wanted to spend as much time as possible with me.

He wanted to bring me to go see Alvin and the Chipmunks because it had just come out. I begged and begged my mom to come with us, but she ended up sending my uncle to come along. When we got to the movies, my father let me pick any candy that I wanted to get. I chose a giant bag of Reese’s Pieces. After we were finished watching the movie, the three of us went to his car and I ended up spilling all of the candy over his backseat and the floor. I was so embarrassed, even though he wasn’t mad.

Later the three of us went to a store where my father let me pick out a Christmas gift for my mom. I picked out a big wooden jewelry box with two glass openings on each side. (I accidently broke the box a few years later, but it’s the thought that counts, right?) He also let me buy a really bright pink hula hoop that lit up when I spun it, which I probably wanted because of that lovely Alvin and the Chipmunks song. It was on this trip to the movies that I began to feel more comfortable around him. I no longer needed my uncle to come along with us.

It wasn’t long before my father went back home and everything felt normal again, but now normal was different. Soon my mom began to let me visit my dad more and more during the summertime. There I met his wife, my stepmother, and my new siblings.

Now I visit my family in Texas as much as I can. I go over Christmas break and I go for as long as I can in the summer when I’m not working. I’m very close with my three siblings there, as well as with my stepmom and father. I realize now that there was never anything to be afraid of and I just needed to get to know my father. And I now have another family that is there for me.

© Alexia. All rights reserved. If you are interested in quoting this story, contact the national team and we can put you in touch with the author’s teacher.