“Anyone can be a father, but it takes someone special to be a Daddy.”
– my wife’s doctor minutes before our son was born
WHAT IT MEANS TO BE A DADDY
Admittedly, I am at the beginning of this road. Our son is not quite 6 months old, so I haven’t had to watch him go off to school, teach him how to ride a bike, help out with his homework, have the sex talk with him, teach him how to drive, worry about him while he was driving, help him pack up his things for college, worry about him at college, fight back tears when he gets married, and revel in his own parenting skills.
Yeah, all that’s waaaaay off. But not really. Because time flies faster when you’re a parent. Now, instead of faceless days being marked off the calendar, there are milestones, accomplishments and growth of a little person that is easily and readily measurable. It’s not just the physcial changes in our little guy, but the emotional and mental. He changes so much every day.
We can’t sit back and wait until he gets older to teach him moral responsibility. Before we know it he’ll be in the world, either carrying or dropping that responsibility. So, we’ve taken a pre-emptive strike by not letting him cruise the Internet for chicks anymore past his bedtime.
This is my first Father’s Day as a father, and it’s a responsibility I don’t take lightly. Here’s a short list containing some of the things I need to keep in mind while helping raise a human:
1. Remember to always treat his mom with love and respect, not just in front of him. Make ours a happy house of love.
2. Focus on spending as much time as possible with him.
3. Making all our time together “quality time” because sometimes that’s all he needs.
4. Keep him safe, but let him get hurt.
5. Teach him about the right choices, but let him make and learn from his mistakes.
6. Lead by example, not the “do it because I say so” method.
7. Pray more. Like, a lot more.
8. Let him know he can always talk to me about anything, no matter what.
9. Tell him to sit up straight, elbows off the table and don’t talk with your mouth full. More important, making sure he hears me say “I love you, Cutlet” on a regular basis.
10. Putting these things into action, not just relegating them to a list on my blog.
There is, of course, a lot more to being a Daddy than this. Much of it will be things I discover along the way. That is part of the joy, and I look forward to this with diaper-changing, drool-wearing glee.
Happy Father’s Day to all the Daddies out there. Stay focused. Stay true. Stay in touch with your kids.
I realize Father’s Day is not an occasion that everyone celebrates. I feel for you, and hope if there’s any chance for reconciliation, even if just in your heart, that you take it. We’re all human, we all make mistakes. And although many men may step up for the role as our father in our lifetime, we only get one Daddy.
If you’ll excuse me, I need to spend some time with my little boy.
