Re: Steve as a father

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briellejee
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Re: Re: Steve as a father

Post by briellejee »

Well, Steve isn't a perfect father, but he tried really hard to provide for Jimmie, and that meant not being by his side all the time. I understand Jimmie's point of view, but then their situation is complicated already from the start when he had the injury.
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Post by MrsCatInTheHat »

Steve did what most parents do. He did the best he could with what he knew. And when that was clearly not working anymore, he made a change.
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Post by Smiley 25 »

I’m only glad that I will never have to make the hard choices that Steve did. Trying to decide between spending time with your son and making enough money for your son to have the best possible care would be heart wrenching. It’s obvious that Steve loved his son. In the end parents can only do what they think is best for their children in the moment. When he was working I think that Steve felt like he was doing what was best for Jimmie, providing. Since he was the only one who could do this I feel that it weighed very heavily on him. I think he was happy to do it. When circumstances changed, Steve lost his job and Jimmie had the potential to earn money for himself, it gave Steve the opportunity to imagine a different life for both of them. One that hadn’t been available before.
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Post by Michgal 32 »

Steve tried his best, he had to work so that Jimmie could be taken care of.
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Post by Lady-of-Literature »

I think I mentioned this in another post, but what I basically said was that parenthood can sometimes leave a parent with tough decisions. In Steve's case, he was single handily trying to support his son into adulthood because of Jimmie's disability. Due to his job as a sailor he has to sail to far off lands to make the money needed to support his son's medical bills and board as well as himself. Yes, Jammie definitely needed his father's attention, but because of these circumstances the best Steve could offer was a phone call and a few visits. I think Steve is just a tired father burden with guilt and responsibility, yet a very dedicated parent. He could have like his ex and abandoned him and I think that says a lot about him.
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Post by Eclecticmama »

Ferdinand_otieno wrote: 02 Apr 2019, 04:25 I think that Steve was a great father who worked himself to death trying to afford the care Jimmie needed, but I believe what Jimmie needed most of all was his father to be present.
I agree with this 100%. Captain Steve thought he was doing what was best for his son, and it took a terrible event for him to finally wake up and see it. I hope we get to see the two of them have their happy ever after in the future books. I'm curious to see how Jimmie improves now that he is back home with his father
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Post by chelhack »

I think that Steve did what he felt was best as a father. Sometimes we as parents have choices or have to make decisions that are not always what we would want or like to do but have to do in order to gain the best results. If Steve had taken Jimmie in before how would they have lived? Where would Steve obtain the income to properly care for Jimmies needs as well as his own without working?

I feel that Steve did the best he could do in his given situation. He could have done the same thing Jimmie's mother did. Which was leave him altogether.
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Post by kdstrack »

Steve spent a lot of time debating in his own mind what was the best for his son. Without his wife's support, he was in a tough spot. The thing to remember is that Jimmie was also an adult. When he finally stopped feeling sorry for himself and took the initiative to educate himself, Steve finally saw an opening for them to be together. When the door opened, Steve didn't hesitate to make plans to get Jimmie out of the institution and bring him home.
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Post by Ekta Kumari »

I thought of Steve to be an ideal father. He needed to work to provide for his son's care. I do not think he had any other alternatives than to work and he did try to visit his son more often. However, I liked his decision in the end to stay with his son and take care of him.
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Post by Nyambura Githui »

Though money was needed to take care of Jimmie, I think Steve should have put more effort to spending time with his son.
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Post by Connie Otwani »

I think he tried the best he could. He needed the money to ensure Jimmy was comfortable. He thought about Jimmy often, and would go see him immediately he landed. All the same, I like the decision he finally made.
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Post by Susmita Biswas »

Steve was a great father. Sometimes, parents have to leave their children alone at home when there isn't any other way.
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Post by Kaylee Elmer »

If I'm looking at the situation practically, I can understand why Steve didn't see Jimmie as much as he should have. He was trying to support his son the best way he knew how which was financially. Unfortunately, this keeps Steve away for 8 months out of the year. But Jimmie needed to be somewhere safe and that costs money. I think he was doing the best he could.

From an emotional standpoint, Jimmie clearly needed more from Steve and that broke my heart. He needed emotional support that he wasn't getting. I'm impressed Jimmie was taking classes to try to better his situation, but having Steve around would probably have made that easier for him.

I was thrilled at the end of the book when Steve decided to retire and have Jimmie move in with him. I would like to think things really got better for Jimmie after that.
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Post by Kibet Hillary »

Ferdinand_otieno wrote: 02 Apr 2019, 04:25 I think that Steve was a great father who worked himself to death trying to afford the care Jimmie needed, but I believe what Jimmie needed most of all was his father to be present.
This is equally true but there is also the question of how would they have lived if Steve had no source of income. His stay in the home would have definitely been cut and then there is the issue of basic needs.
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Post by Popcorn1 »

Steve tried his best to make time for his son whenever he has free time. If he will quit his job as a sea Captain and find a job that will make him and his son closer, the chance of that happening is quite slim as it is hard to start over again when you have already built the foundation of your career.
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