Stories like “went to buy groceries and never came back” or “picked up the wrong child from daycare” are common about dads. While these things do happen, there are also good dads who care a lot. This article is about how tough it can be to be a dad sometimes.

The Story:

When I met my now-wife, she had a 3-year-old daughter. I always treated her like she was my own child, and we became close quickly. By the time she was 4, she even started calling me “daddy.” Her real dad comes and goes in her life, and she calls us both “dad,” but when she’s with my wife and me, she calls him by his first name.

Last night, she was with her real dad when I got a text from her asking if I could pick her up. When I arrived, she was outside with her real dad, who was holding her arm. She came to my car and told me she fell while playing with a skateboard, and her arm was bruised, swollen, and hard to move.

I asked her real dad why he didn’t call my wife. He said, “I don’t think it’s that bad, she’s just being dramatic.” My stepdaughter looked at me and said, “Dad, can we just go? I’m in a lot of pain.” As she was getting in the car, I told her real dad, “This is why I’m her real dad, not you. I actually care about her and her well-being.” It turned out her arm was broken, and I stayed with her in the ER until 1 a.m.