Happy Fathers Day! Remembering Dr. Sauveur Mahotiere

Hello Queens! Today has been a tough day for me. Holidays like this are always hard for me but for some particular reason Fathers Day hit me hard the most this year. My father who is in Heaven passed away when I was 1 year old. He died at the age of 58 which means he conceived me at an older age than most men. I guess that is why I have such an old soul. Growing up without my father or mother was not easy but one thing that I never denied was the love my dad had for me. I am his last child and daughter. I like to see myself as his last blessing on earth. My father met my mother while working in Guinea which is where I was born. He was a professor at Fort Valley State University but he traveled to African countries to teach. Today I was crying because I could not find his work badge. I held on to it for as long as I could but then realized I misplaced it. When I read different articles about my father it makes me feel so proud to know that he was my dad but I also get sad at the idea of never knowing him or being able to speak to him about his life. I have to go out of my way to do my own research on him because people are not always willing to share it. Before I was born, him and my mother traveled to Mali together which is right next to Guinea. I figured maybe that was the inspiration behind naming me Malon but I could be wrong. It just made sense in my head. I miss my parents so much and I wish they were here but maybe this world is too ugly for the beautiful people that they were so I know they are in a better place than this. Something I just recently started doing is sharing more details about my life. This is a way for me to heal from what happened. Whenever I share more about my life, I feel better about myself and what happened to my family. Sometimes the worst thing in your life can lead you to the best thing for your life. Maybe my purpose is to change people’s hearts and minds with my story. When I tell people about my father and who he was before he died they usually have nothing but nice things to say. One of my coworkers expressed to me that my father died in the most beautiful way with the love his life and knowing his kids still survived after he left this earth. For as long as I have had to live with my tragedy, that was the first time I heard someone else see it as something different. Instead of it being a tragedy, they saw it as a testimony to say that man lived a beautiful full life and I appreciate that insight and encouragement because it healed my heart a great deal.

Happy Fathers Day to my loving father Sauveur Mahotiere. You will forever be loved and missed. Thank you so much for your love and protection from above!

Love always your daughter,

Malon Mahotiere