Since he was drafted in late April, Bills top draft pick Aaron Maybin has been described as little more than an imposing pass rushing defensive end. But this Father's day weekend instead of getting to the quarterback, Maybin will be giving back to his father in a way that few sons and daughters can.
Maybin is in the process of marking out a plot of land in South Carolina, not far from Hilton Head where he plans to build his dad, Michael Maybin, a new family home.
"We're going to build a house down there for my father, my mother, my little brothers and sisters and my grandparents," said Maybin.
The Maybin family currently resides in the Baltimore suburb of Ellicott City, but that's going to change soon.
"My father actually retired from the Baltimore city fire department last year so I'm going to move him down south," Maybin said.
Michael Maybin was a fire inspector while also serving as a minister of a local parish in his neighborhood. The elder Maybin still wants to preach, and those arrangements have also been made at a church down south.
Maybin and his father have a bond that's closer than most fathers and sons due in part to what they had to go through when Aaron was just six-years old. Maybin's mother Connie died giving birth to his younger sister Constance due to complications brought on by preeclampsia.
"Me and my father have been through a whole lot together and he's probably the closest person to me in my life," said Maybin.
Before Maybin turned eight years of age his dad had re-married with Violette Maybin raising Aaron and his siblings. Maybin calls her his mother as she was a steadying force for the family.
Soon to be equipped with greater financial means once he signs his rookie contract, Maybin treated his dad once this month already as it was his birthday two weeks ago.
"I flew back home and took him to a jazz festival for his birthday," said Maybin. "It was a great time, and this father's day coming up, I've got a little something planned. It's a surprise so I won't give that away but he's definitely going to have a lot going on."
Plans for the new family home are in the early stages, and the relocation of the family south isn't expected until August 2010. But Maybin takes great satisfaction in being able to thank his father in such a meaningful way for all that he has given him in his 21 years as his son.
"It feels great," said Maybin. "They've done so much for me in my lifetime and I definitely wouldn't be here without my parents. They're the strongest driving force in my life and for me to be able to just do a little something for them to just put a smile on their face… the smile on their face means the world to me."
