Children raced across the playground at Waterfront Park, weaved between water fountains and climbed play structures. Outside the San Diego County Administration Center, families gathered in the downtown park to enjoy the warm weather.
Parents kept a close eye on their progeny. Some kids showed off toys. Others tugged their parents toward the playground. More than once, a father had to pause an interview to answer questions from an excited kid.
With Father’s Day approaching (Sunday, June 21), The San Diego Sun asked several downtown dads to reflect on parenthood; to ponder what it had brought them. Experiences varied but many described the same reward: watching their children grow into their own people.
Isaac Cisneros said that feeling didn’t come overnight.
“I only saw her two days in the hospital, and I left,” he said.
After Casey was born, Cisneros shipped out for military duty in Afghanistan. For the next five years, he watched much of her childhood through a screen.
Now, Casey is 16.
Sitting beside her father at Waterfront Park, Casey said she’d learned a lot from him, especially about navigating adulthood.
“I learned a lot about adult life, like money and all that stuff,” she said.
For Cisneros, fatherhood looks different today than when Casey was young.
“This is the best part,” he said. “When I actually see the girl she’s become.”
He describes Casey as the female version of himself. The two volunteer together in Mexico, distributing food, blankets and supplies to people experiencing homelessness.
“She’s got a big heart with everybody,” Cisneros said.
Across the park, Douglass Webb watched his daughters play nearby.
Webb moved to San Diego after joining the military and decided to stay. Today, he’s the father of three daughters.
His oldest daughter is autistic and nonverbal. His youngest recently learned to say “Dada.”
Some of his favorite moments are the ordinary ones.
“The daily,” he said. “Taking them to school, picking them up, seeing how excited they are when they come to you.”
Fatherhood has also made him think more carefully about the example he sets.
“My daughters’ first example of what they’re going to emulate for a boyfriend or husband, or even just a male friend, is me,” he said.
Nearby, Tevin Washington’s three-year-old daughter Jayla held onto a toy dragon named Spitfire.
Washington moved to San Diego after serving aboard the USS Carl Vinson and now works as an engineer at Sharp Grossmont Hospital. Becoming a father changed the way he views the world.
“Having a child teaches you everyone has a different perspective,” he said.
Watching his daughters grow has reminded him that no two children are alike.
“The whole thing is just a learning experience,” he said.
For firefighter EMT Josh Cunningham, fatherhood is about helping his two sons become good people.
“I’m trying to give them what I didn’t have as a kid,” he said. “We can keep this ball rolling of creating really good humans.”
Pastor Freddy, a father of four and grandfather of nine, spent decades watching children grow up. His oldest is now 54.
Even after all these years, he said, fatherhood never really ends.
“They call you for everything,” he said with a laugh.
As children continued running through the playground, fathers shared different stories and experiences. Most returned to the same idea: The most meaningful gift as a dad is getting a front-row seat to their children’s lives. SDSun
