What’s the true measure of a man? A father shows his love for his daughter in the most elegant way.
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Rediscovery is perhaps surreal, sublime aspects of being human. It’s often an individual journey that revives the soul, although many things and people may be a guiding light along the way. It’s a cleansing of oneself–learning to use what you’re left with when the wind blows in an expected direction and sweeps everything you’ve once leaned on away. You stop pointing fingers and placing blame where it doesn’t belong.
The strength and ability to recycle the tattered and torn pieces of existence–rather than throwing them away–defines one’s resolve as a man, woman and warrior. When that happens, the act of rediscovery is no longer just a second chance. It’s an experience.
For Paul Martin and his daughter, Brittany, that’s exactly what it was.
Upworthy.com recently ran a story about Martin and his daughter’s love for dancing, and how the two have danced ever since Brittany was a little girl. Tragedy struck when she got older, however, as Paul was left completely paralyzed following a deadly car accident that killed her younger brother when she was 12 years old. Paul’s injuries from the accident have also left him in a wheelchair for most of Brittany’s adult life–and when the time came to plan her wedding, Brittany’s only concern was figuring out a way to dance with her father again.
“Dancing was one of the first things on his mind after his injury — he loved it, but it was too painful to think of doing it in a wheelchair. Unfortunately for me, that meant dancing with my dad became nothing but a memory,” she explains in the video above.
Paul was fearful that he would be forced to pass his father/daughter dance off to his new son-in-law. He was also apprehensive to get back on the dancefloor after 17 years, for fear he’d be the unwanted center of attention–even thinking that he’d have to call off the first dance with his newly-wed daughter altogether. However, Brittany found tutorials online about dancing with someone in a wheelchair before the big day. She expressed to him how important this was to her, and the two rehearsed and prepared an elaborate dance months in advance.
The end result is captured is this three-minute video. For Paul, it was less about proving he could dance again, and more about finding his true self.
“Once we did it, I saw the crowd’s reaction and realized how much fun I had. I had a really good time because I wasn’t concerned about what I looked like. I was concerned about dancing and having fun–and that’s really what it’s all about,” he said.
In many ways, this is about a father providing for his daughter. This nan challenged himself and what he thought was possible, just to put a smile on his daughter’s face. That’s the mark of a real man showing real love. Not only that, but he mentions in the video that he spent many days lying in a hospital bed–thinking about what it would be like if he couldn’t do this for his daughter, if he couldn’t dance with her again.
So, what does this say about fatherhood? What does this say about bonding–and most importantly, rediscovery?
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AbleThrive/Youtube
Congrats & enjoy your memories. You sound like one special guy and your step daughter is lucky to have you!Thanks for commenting on my story.
…and she too is my step-daughter…which drives the point even deeper for me.
Hang on a sec. Got some dust or something in my eye…blurring my vision a bit… Few things of greater memory then that dance with one’s daughter on her wedding day. Beyond the pomp, politics, and promises, is that silent, passionate understanding that, yes, I actually did do it right. Yes, I have someone here that I am so very proud of. To this day she still calls me “Obi-wan”. Our dance picture sits right here above my desk, our song is her ring tone, and the memory is one of my fondest. Glad you and your dad had that… Read more »