Being A Dad

I thought and thought about article topics and no idea met my lofty expectations. What do ‘writers’ do when this happens? A List!

First a background for the heavy international reader base that isn’t aware of who I am. I am a father of two wonderful girls, aged 5 and 2; as well as the luckiest husband on the face of the earth, married for 6 ½ years that have gone by in the blink of an eye.

From the oldest brother of the Unfinished Dad:

Being a Dad is…

1 - HOLY SHIT. We’re home from the hospital with our first born. NOW WHAT!

2 - But then between my wife and I, not letting her out of our arms for 2 days straight, and cherishing ever second it was my turn to hold her.

3 - Teetering between feeling emasculated, cracking up with laughter, and just not ready to talk about the subject when trying to explain that Daddy doesn’t have a peanut, it is called a penis.

4 - Wondering, sometimes out loud, how many days one could go on 2 hours of sleep a night, after one of those sick weeks where the kids and parents are down and out. You’ve been thrown up on, screamed at by an infant who doesn’t understand why she is feeling so bad, and both ‘grown-ups’ are days past the point of grating on each others nerves due to sleep deprivation.

5 - That magical moment, the first night when the kids are showing signs of being better, when both my wife and I can actually crawl into bed at the same time for the first time in a week, and admiring that smile she gives knowing that all is forgiven (I can be, uh, well, let just say my disposition can sometimes be exasperating to those around me when I haven’t had enough sleep).

6 - Can it be true? When you 2-year old daughter jumps into bed with you in the morning, wakes up, then frowns and says – Dad, you smell like a basketball. Mind you, she has never seen a basketball let alone smelled one.

7 - Finding a way to still get ‘Lou time” in the worst of circumstances. For example, it can take over an hour to get the kids to bed. For the youngest, this often means patting her. To me, it simply means 1 hour time spent with my IPOD listening to an Audio Book. Sure honey, I’ll put her to bed tonight, you deserve a break (as she heads down to do the dishes).

8 - Always being right. Well, always thinking your right. Only to find out you are wrong. 3 different ways, from 3 different people, two of whom barely stand barely to my waist.

9 - Explaining the proper pronunciation of “Wingardium Leviosa”, a levitation charm, no less than 3 times per minute for the first week after Harry Potter was allowed into the house. For the record, it is: win-GAR-dee-um lev-ee-OH-sa.

10- Being a Dad is Awesome. As evidenced by getting home from work and having two little girls come running for bear hugs with huge smiles on their faces, a wife who’s been working miracles all afternoon keeping the kids at bay, happy, and occupied but still has time for me the minute I get home, and even the little pup vying for attention during the ‘Daddy’s home melee’.