New Orleans native, single dad adopts 3 brothers
As Father's Day is approaching
By Gina Swanson
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NEW ORLEANS (WDSU) — As Father’s Day is approaching, a forever family is making headlines across the country.
Meet the Smith family: Taveon, 12; Ireon, who is soon to be 11; Tayvon, who just turned 10; and Pappa J.
The foursome has felt like family from the beginning but single father Jason Smith made it official two years ago, adopting the brothers he had been fostering.
A life-altering decision for Smith and the boys after a life-changing moment.
“I lost my dad January 30th, 2021,” Smith said. “I felt a little, I felt a way about not providing him with grandkids. There was a level of purposefulness that I didn’t have”.
The New Orleans native went from a household of 1 to a party of 4.
“It’s been like an adventure like, been like, traveling a whole lot, it’s been like a very good journey where we went for like we went on the Disney Cruise Ship and we got to go to other countries,” Ireon said.
This dad says he was mentally prepared for the demands of parenting, but some things he’s learning on the job.
“The amount of, I guess, that planning around lunch and dinner and the amount of laundry that comes along with it,” he said.
In town for a few weeks to visit family, but the boys have been on the move and making headlines.
From the baseball field, movie nights, church on Sundays, holidays, vacations and Disney, a well-rounded, forever family, figuring it out along the way
“There was no handbook. What I’ve done to guide myself through this experience has really been just reflecting on my own childhood and what felt good and what didn’t,” Smith said. “It’s OK to apologize in a moment where I made a poor decision, or I might have been too strict.”
For these boys, the smiles say it all the definition of black boy joy, always knowing they will have a safe place to land.
“I think I feel like happy and like a joy that like we have someone who is willing, willing to take any child. Yeah. And they put their heart,” Taveon said.
“Yeah. And, also I think like, we are really awesome, and that’s what really matters,” Tayvon said.
So, this Father’s Day, we salute you, Pappa J, for creating a family your own father would be proud of.
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