I turned forty about a month before my oldest child, George, was born.
Soon after, I realized something important. I
wasn't really a man until I became a father. Before that, I was a selfish only
child who spent the first forty years of his life doing more stupid things than
smart things.
Fatherhood came naturally to me. It was much easier than being a
husband. I never minded changing stinky diapers. I got up in the middle of the
night without complaint to warm a bottle and feed a baby.
I also pulled a few stunts as a
father that turned heads.
Do you remember those blue plastic things you are supposed to stick in a
baby's nose when they are congested? Your child can't breathe, there is snot
everywhere, they are running a fever, and somehow you are supposed to clear
their sinuses with a little piece of plastic that couldn't suck a marble
through a garden hose.
I couldn't do it. So, I improvised.
I would put a towel on the floor, cradle the sick baby in my arms, put
my mouth over their nose and mouth, and suck all that junk right out. Then I
would spit those lovely phlegm treasures onto the towel.
A couple rounds of that, and I would have a relieved baby sleeping
peacefully in my arms while their mother looked at me like I had completely
lost my mind.
Years after my marriage failed, I
realized part of the problem.
I wasn't a husband anymore.
I was only a father.
I fell asleep more nights on the kids' bedroom
floor after reading stories than I did next to my wife. I hugged and kissed my
children but forgot to hug and kiss their mother.
That realization took me years to
understand.
If I have any advice for you young guys who are about to get married and
have children, it is this… Don't let the flame die.
After children arrive, it is easy to make them the center of everything.
Be the best father you can be, but make sure your children see that you are
also a great husband.
Children need to see their parents laugh together. They need to see them
flirt. They need to see their father treat their mother with love and respect.
Don't let them see only the
arguments and disagreements.
It is important for sons because it teaches them how to treat women. It
is even more important for daughters because it teaches them what kind of man
they should expect in their lives.
You don't want your son growing up to be an assclown, and you certainly
don't want your daughter attracted to one.
Like the Oldman always said……
"The two greatest gifts a man can receive in life are the love of a
woman and the trust of a child."
Happy Father's Day to all the dads who would do anything for the passion
produced from their loins and continues to fill their hearts with love.
Show them why you are the best that today
proclaims you to be!
