Because trouble comes in all sizes.
Parenting really can be surreal. A newborn baby—a precious and seemingly innocuous little life form—becomes the catalyst of life altering change. New Moms and Dads remind me of the blissfully naive dinosaurs unaware of the impact the gigantic glowing rock descending from the sky would inflict upon them. It must have been one captivatingly beautiful light show.
Knowledge is power. When you’re a new parent, you may find yourself feeling like the house idiot. A newborn baby, a precious and seemingly innocuous little life form, becomes the catalyst of life altering change. Imagine a lumbering freight train rounding the bend in the middle of the night. Then think of you and your significant other on a carefree adventure filled moonlit stroll on the tracks. You’ll never be aware of the massive impact awaiting you if you fail to see said train behind you in time.
Becoming a parent can be an overwhelming experience filled with a range of emotions swinging wildly from sheer joy to deep depression. Fatherhood, in particular, often arrives unexpectedly even to those who have planned for it with their significant other. You may be asking “why the traumatic reaction to a predetermined choice?” I’d respond with the question “how can one prepare for an experience so uniquely personal in nature?”
For me, 2006 was the year that changed everything. A nine month odyssey of introspection, fear, and discovery that would shake me to my very core. To state that I was mentally and emotionally unprepared for my upcoming new role in life would be an understatement. I was a mess pure and simple. A wobbling bowl of green jello barely held together by skin and bones. Maybe that’s why Bill Cosby, America’s TV Dad, became a spokesperson for Jello products. A tacit nod to all new Dads who’ve gone through this rite of passage. The path that leads to Father’s Day.