PARENTING March 5, 2007 Issue

FATHERHOOD COMES WITH DIVINE RESOURCES

KWADJO BOAITEY

A FEW WEEKS AGO on a blustery winter morning, I was juggling my baby girl, her blanket, a diaper bag, backpack, and car seat, while trying to close my car door at the same time, when I heard a voice calling out to me. "Excuse me, sir!" a man said from an adjacent car.

It was the first time I had brought my three-month-old daughter, Ayoka, to work with me. I was late, cold, and unsure if I could manage the five-block walk to my office with what seemed like the weight of a bus on my two arms and back. Needless to say, I wasn't in the mood to chitchat.

"Excuse me, sir!" the voice persisted.