I know that it’s cliché to say that one of the most powerful moments in a man’s life is when his child comes into his world, but it is nonetheless true. With any assemblance of strength, you can harness it and make it stronger…but fail to nurture it and you’ve allowed it to slip through your fingers.
The whole sperm and egg thing, that’s the easy part. It’s so true that most anyone can be a father, but how to become that Super Dad? You know, the one who has a loving, communicative and respectful relationship with his child? He allows her/him to take educated risks, exposes them to what the world has to offer but also allows himself to laugh and cry with them. How do I strip off the tie and glasses to become this man of men? Full disclosure here, I do not know.
However, what I have picked up in my ten years as a parent would be to love them, create with them, expose them to all that you can, listen to them, listen some more and love their mother with all your heart. Hopefully, when/if my daughters choose to marry, they’ll pick a partner that treats them just as well, if not better than I did. And THEN I would know that I did my job.
Happy Dad’s Day my Brothers!
[other topics to note that almost made my 10yr tips: Forget about cool (it’s long gone) and consistent sleep patterns (hope for 4-6hrs). Also, remember that if you’re constantly on the other side of that digi camera for family events, your existence will be virtually undocumented. Lastly, your vernacular will be hard to return to normal (i.e. words like potty and bye bye might be mistakenly brought up during Poker night..which goes full circle to Pt #1: cool) ]
See this post on PBS Parents:
