Fatherhood is the ultimate goal for many men. The feeling of being able to be a part of creating another life is one that is cherished but do not underestimate the role of being a father since it is not one to mess with. When you are a father, you are your child’s teacher, counselor, coach, financial adviser, judge and jury, and a protector all at once.
For some of you who are already a father, you know the feeling all too well but for cricketer Christopher Barnwell joining the fatherhood club has allowed him to discover a part of himself he never knew existed. Christopher’s wife Dionne Cush-Barnwell gave birth to their beautiful baby girl on January 16, 2018 and describes the first time he saw his daughter, Ms. Chelsea Dhilia Barnwell, as “love at first sight.”
Drawing from his own childhood, which he described as total fun, Christopher hopes to give his daughter the best life possible. He remembers his own childhood days of playing marbles after a day as school or a game of cricket with the boys in the neighbourhood. He also enjoyed a good basketball match and even the classic hide and seek. Those are all experiences he hopes little Chelsea would have the opportunity to indulge while growing up in the more technologically advanced world.
Apart from being a great dad, so far, Christopher is somewhat of a celebrity in the world of sport. He is a right-arm fast bowler in the hit-the-deck mould who can also contribute with the bat. In his first season of domestic cricket, he served notice of both his skills, with a five-wicket haul and half-centuries in the first-class and List A formats. While spinners formed the crux of Guyana’s attack in their victorious 2010 Caribbean T20 campaign, Barnwell was their most consistent seamer, impressing with his nagging lengths and clever changes of pace. He has since then, gone on to play the game in various formats at home and overseas. The 31 year old has played for notable teams such as West Indies, Barbados Tridents, Guyana, Guyana Amazon Warriors, and Royal Challengers Bangalore.
With this success in his career, Christopher said the day he became a father was the day he truly experienced boundless joy. Since becoming a father, Christopher’s daily life has changed tremendously since everything now revolves around ensuring that his daughter gets the best life possible.
“Some of my memorable moments with my father are him taking me to school, going on out of town trip to watch him play football, playing cricket in the backyard and cooking after a good game of cricket,” Christopher reminisced.
It is those same memories and more that he plans to create with his daughter.
“Once I don’t have cricket and I’m home would take her out to visit the garden, zoo, play games with her, fly kite and pay keen interest in the fun thing she like. My ultimate goal as a father is to make sure I raise my child in the right way, get her to do the right and provide for her.”
For Christopher, he is enjoying every moment with Chelsea and for his first Father’s Day he plans to reflect and think about the type of life he has lived and the quality of life he intends to provide for her. (Guyana Times Sunday Magazine)
“My ultimate goal as a father is to make sure I raise my child in the right way, get her to do the right and provide for her.” – C.Barnwell
