I can applaud this man

[Book of Jeremiah]

Best thread of the day. I wish there were more stories like this one.

 

[my2¢]

I wonder if the guy is paying any child support?

 

[usmbguest5318]

So you know I clicked on the source link in the OP. The first thing I see is the article's headline: "Kindhearted dad becomes online sensation after he buys groceries for his ex when he realized she was too busy caring for their sick baby daughter to get to the store."

My thoughts: Oookaaay....Why the hell is his doing what he should be doing resulting in his becoming an "online sensation?" What am I missing here? A man buying groceries for his "baby mama" is enough to cause a "sensation?" Really?

Whatever...I kept reading, thinking maybe there's more to this story, such as his buying them groceries for a whole year and arranging to have them delivered on a semi-weekly schedule or something....Or his doing so had some sort of great stroke of luck associated with it...just something that transcends "doing the right thing" because it's the right thing to do.

Then I read that he bought a few weeks worth of groceries for his ex and child. Okay, but isn't grocery shopping for most Americans a "shopping for a few weeks" sort of thing? I know when I grocery shop, it's a matter of stopping at the store on the way home and buying whatever looks good and that I feel like I want to cook that evening. For that reason, there're almost never much in the way of groceries in my house. I have lots of condiments, seasoning and spices, and just about anything one might want to slake a thirst. Maybe these people live in a city, and that style of grocery shopping in the norm. Well, he lives in Florida, but we aren't told where.

Reading on, I find out the man visited his daughter because he learned she was ill, and upon doing so, he observed what he deemed a dearth of groceries in the house. That's why he bought the groceries. Great. He saw a problem that needed fixing and he fixed it.

Fine, but I'm still just seeing a dude who's doing what he's supposed to be doing. I'm still looking for what's sensational about the man. I read that he posted a photo of the grocery bill, which seems really bizarre to me, but whatever....people gratuitously post on social media all sorts of "look at what I did" stuff I wouldn't think worth mentioning were I to have done it, so I guess that is what it is. I finished reading the article and, frankly, I didn't find anything that struck me as the man having done anything other than his duty as a co-parent and father.

Say what you want of my thinking that, but I wasn't raised to think that one deserves praise, notoriety, etc. for doing what one is supposed to do.

• I didn't get praised for earning straight As in school because doing that is what I was sent there to do. I wouldn't have been sent to the schools I was were it not apparent to my parents that I was capable of doing so.
• There were no unusual accolades for behaving well, because I was supposed to be well behaved.
• Throughout my career, there has never been any "bonus" for me or anyone else who merely meets expectations. There's no downside for that; it's just that one isn't going to get any notice or "special reward" for doing so. I/we pay people to, at the very least, meet expectations, and meeting them is sufficient, but that's all it is.

The "baby mama" is a woman he cared enough about to "bang" and have a child with. She and he have jobs and homes and a kid they both must care for. If the mother has primary custody of the child, it stands to reason that her wellbeing is crucial to their daughter's sufficiency. So, if Mama is overloaded at the time, yes, it's his responsibility to step-up and take care of things that normally she might handle on her own. Their family circumstances may be non-traditional, so to speak, but a family they are nonetheless. That's that. And that's the source of my wonderment about Mr. Carpenter's receiving acclaim for meeting what unquestionably is the bar for being a typically good co-parent, father and human being.

He helped the mother of his child because he felt compassion for her and for his daughter. He bought several weeks worth of groceries to make sure she had more than enough to get her through. It's very simple. Don't overthink it.

TY. I fully understand what he did and why for it's what any co-parent, father and gentleman would and should do. His actions are what astound me. It's the "to do" that's being made of his having done so that's not making sense to me. I'm trying to understand what's so mentionable about what the man did, not whether it was worth doing or right that he did it.

 

[Claudette]

Well they are friends so why wouldn't he help? She looks after his child.

I agree but for every one like this great guy there are thousands who don't provide anything for their kids. They let the Govt., i.e. the taxpayers of America provide for them.

Most couldn't care less how many kids they have as long as they don't have to provide for them.

 

[JOSweetHeart]

I can applaud this man too. I just pray that the child isn't being used to get to him. Some people say that guys are the problem in a relationship. I disagree. Sometimes the woman is the problem and they don't care who it is that they have to run over in order to get whatever it is that they think that they deserve.

God bless you and that man and his little girl always!!!

Holly