Single dad let 12-year-old daughter ride subway alone for the first time in NYC — what he felt afterwards surprised him
Many parents try to make their kids independent in all aspects of life. However, seeing those changes in their child can be quite emotionally overwhelming for them. A single dad experienced something similar when he let his daughter ride a subway with her friend for the first time. He had always gone with her otherwise. The dad, u/skydivinghuman, shared how he couldn't stop crying for a long time after the incident.
The man is raising his 12-year-old daughter as a single dad in New York City. "This morning, I let her take the subway to school with a classmate but without me for the first time in her life," the man expressed. "Since then, I've been on the Peloton for an hour, took three work calls... ate a whole bag of Sour Patch Kids and now I'm waiting to pick her up from her school's field day event in a few hours." He was amazed that he could do all of these things while secretly crying his eyes out after his daughter's milestone event. The entire thing was a bittersweet feeling for the dad who had been crying since 7:45 AM in the morning.
"I know the whole point of raising them right is exactly so they can do this on their own, but damn, this s*** came way too quick," the emotional dad pointed out. "Hug your little ones, guys. It goes way too f****** fast." Many people shared their thoughts on the incident in the comments section of the thread and praised the dad for doing a great job at raising his daughter, even though moments like these may seem hard.
u/MortifieDad wrote, "A parent's job is to render themselves unnecessary. Not all the way there yet, but good progress. Keep up the good work." u/Otherwise-Mango2732 commented, "I don't like the way the bird is looking at them. Seriously, though - I give you credit. My son is only 5, but I can't imagine that feeling. Tough. Keep it up. I cried when my son's kindergarten door closed. It's a lifetime of memories rushing through your head." u/PM_DEM_CHESTS remarked, "I started taking the subway to and from school by myself when I was in 3rd grade and this was the mid 90s. My son is only 4 now, but I have no idea when I’ll feel comfortable letting him take the train alone. This is one of those moments when you are proud of your child’s independence and also mourn the loss of their dependence on you. Great job, Dad."
u/jeremysbrain shared, "Yep. It was a bit of a hard day yesterday. I walked my youngest daughter to school for the last time. Next year, she will be taking the bus to junior high. Neither my wife nor my daughter was phased by this fact, but that 5-minute walk to school always meant a lot to me." u/iggyfenton expressed, "I probably coached my last sporting event. It’s been 12 years of coaching Baseball, Soccer, Flag Football and Ice Hockey. My youngest just left Majors Little League and is moving to Juniors, where we have set coaches and he plays travel ice hockey. My daughter is doing pole vault now after years of soccer. My time as a coach is done. I’ve been mourning it all day."