“Soak it up.
Soak up every second because from birth to the time they are ten, it goes like that.”
But the role he most cherishes in life is that of dad to now 14-year-old, Merribeth.
Credit: Wes Brown
“I thank God every day but, I feel like we got a pre-trained child.
She wakes herself up, she dresses herself, she’s always been super responsible.
I do not know where that stems from,” he mused with a hearty laugh.
Credit:Wes Brown
And it’s earned and you have it.
You also have it to lose.
They’ll be gone.
So, I never wanted to lose that," he reflected.
As Meribeth is still young, she has been allowed this freedom to a degree.
“She feels that responsibility.
“It’s not just the food.
It’s more, especially coming from Louisiana.
It’s the activities that come around the food.
Like, if you’re making a gumbo, you’re not just having a gumbo for a meal.
You’re having an event, you’re having a party, you’re having people over.
Crawfish boil, same thing.
It’s an event.”
Brown enjoys passing on the traditions from his Southern upbringing and the cuisine native to his home state.
But Brown’s skills in the kitchen go well beyond a pot of gumbo.
He’s an avid home cook who loves challenging himself every time he ties an apron around his waist.
“Yeah, I don’t like simple,” he said with another hearty laugh.
“I like long, elaborate.
I like dinners on Sundays that have to start on Fridays.”
“My daughter will see me go, again not complicated, just taking extra steps.
“We’ve been very lucky, very fortunate.
I understand were in a different situation than a lot of people … WithFather’s Dayapproaching, we asked what advice he would give to other fathers or fathers to be.
“That’s a big question.
A big question that actually has a pretty simple answer.
His other piece of advice for parents is to be present for your children.
“They don’t know if you’re rich.
And that has been the absolute most important thing for me.
I think it’s been the most important thing for our daughter.”
And he added, “it kinda sounds cheesy but I don’t want gifts.
My gifts are all around me.”
This article was originally published on June 19, 2020
