I was a 20-something dude turned dad a few years ago.
I wasn't necessarily ready, but I knew I never would be.
The night my son was born, I think I was in shock. I actually had an inner panic attack when I realized we had a whaling baby on our hands. We were dead tired and he wouldn't sleep. Night one was brutal.
Night two, everything changed. He still wouldn't sleep, so to allow my wife to get some rest, I paced back and forth in the hospital room for a few hours as I pushed his little bed on wheels.
The movement calmed him.
He just looked at me.
For those three hours, I stared back into his blue eyes and talked to him about how much I was looking forward to living our lives together. Total male bonding experience. Night two was life-changing. I was starting to like him.
My son, Teddy, is now 3 years old. Still doesn't sleep. But these three years have been packed with amazing father-son moments. And it's starting to dawn on me that I have a huge responsibility to raise this growing boy and teach him some things about life. There are many so-called right and wrong ways to do it . . . the advice can be overwhelming at times. How do people raise their kids so they turn out decent?!
I'm going to simplify it. I'm no parenting expert, but here's what I've learned in three years of being a dad:
When I laugh, he laughs.
When I sing, he sings.
When I yell, he yells.
When I play, he plays.
When I bite my nails, he bites his nails.
When I listen, he listens.
When I hug his mom, he hugs his mom.
When I pray, he prays.
When I show hate, he shows hate.
When I show love, he shows love.
It's quite evident, as he learns what to do, when to do it, how to do it, how not to do it, it's not always going to matter what I say.
What really matters is what I do. Because apparently, he's always watching.
Happy Father's Day to all you dads.
