By Morgana Freeman as told to JaTika Hudson
Being Morgan Freeman the movie star has not made our life easier, but I am
proud of his career. In many ways, being Morgan Freeman has made life more
difficult. I don't see him often because he's working hard and I'm working
hard. Sometimes, I want to take the fame away. I am a daddy's girl and the
baby of four children, so, for me he is my everything. My dad and I share a
special bond that only he and I are a part of.
He never let the fame distract our lives but I did get a small taste when I was 17 years old and went to the Academy Awards with him. Like a true father, before we stepped on the red carpet he said, "Listen to me, I'm not going to let go of your hand." Well, when we pulled up to the red carpet and the limousine door opened and everybody started to scream. I thought, "You are my daddy, you are not Eddie Murphy or even Denzel. You are my dad!" That was when I.knew he was famous and that our lives would change.
One of the most important life lessons that he taught me was when as a child, when I fell off my bike, bleeding and everything - I still have a scar on my lip - he would never sympathize for me. And as an adult, he asked me, "You know why I never picked you up? Because you needed to learn how to pick yourself up." That has taught me that I can always keep going and with life's ups and downs I just remember, "Now what?"
There are so many stories and memories that I have with my dad. One of my fondest memories is how my dad used to smoke a pipe and I liked the way it used to make his hands smell. I knew if he smoked that pipe and especially if he used a particular type of strawberry tobacco, I would always have my jacket on in the house so he could tie the hat strings and I would sniff the strings.
As a mother of three, I see many of his beliefs in what I teach my children. I want my daddy to know how much he is my rock. I cannot imagine life without him. I love him and wouldn’t trade him for anything.