So here's the thing. When your first child is 10 days late, you kind of expect that's how long your body gestates. I remember saying to Joel, "I have a friend whose first was 41+3 like Wesley and her second was only 40+3 so we better be ready a little early." Baby didn't know that was the plan.
When a baby is born, a dad is born. I became a father just over three years ago. Mr. Dude's arrival into the world changed my life in ways I had never anticipated.
It hit me for the first time as I sat there in the waiting room of a medical diagnostics location a few blocks from my work. Abigail was in the back room getting blood work done to confirm what we already knew. The signs were all there. We couldn't ignore what was happening and simply hope the best would prevail. It wasn't going to get better or fix itself if we just gave it more time.
I've been asked that question half a dozen times in the last two weeks. Everyone from coworkers to friends and family seem to be vocally curious if we are having unprotected sex or not. We've really enjoyed the first two plus years of having Mr. Dude around, but it has been a lot of work. Going from a childless couple to a couple with a child, as well you may already know if you are a parent or caretaker, causes a great change in your life. Those early months are wonderful and horrendous at the same time.
Dad blogging lost one of its heroes this past weekend. His name was Oren Miller and cancer took him from us. Oren started a Facebook group in December of 2012. His goal was to create a community for dads to share ideas, increase their influence and help create a better form of fatherhood. He simply named it Dad Bloggers.
I remember watching my son sleep when he was a newborn. Those moments were precious and often happened only in the afternoon in the early days of my fatherhood. Those sleepless nights were full of frustration, exhaustion and time that seemed to slow to a crawl. In a way and for some odd reason I miss it a little.
