“Oh don’t worry! One day you will understand!”

“Oh, don’t worry! One day you will understand!” – This is what several people will tell you before you have a baby. They mean well but, when it is typically said like this, it only makes you mad. Your mother and I were lucky enough to be graced with a wonderful niece and several nephews before you were born so we already had a good knowledge of what babies entail (not to mention the countless number per-birth classes she took me to or the excessive amount of books your mama read before you were born). We were older (at least I was) than most parents and – most importantly – we WANTED to be your parents. So you can imagine hearing this was quite frustrating.

So, now that I’ve been a parent for a little over a year, I like to put a different spin on the same expression. The key difference I tell future parents (especially dads to be) doesn’t involve the hard time most parents express when they say this common expression, but more the joys it brings.

Such as, now that I’m a dad, I can honestly say my favorite moment each day is your reaction to seeing me after I’ve been away. Whether it be work or when you’re in Sunday School, you always greet me with a “Da-Da!!”. It melts my heart every time. I love that we have the same taste in music, that you like to sleep on the very edge of the bed like your mama, and that you’ve got your very own sassy personality already. I love how you change from day to day into a more beautiful little girl, and I pray that you will always feel how much you are loved. This is why being a dad is AMAZING! It’s FAR, FAR, FAR from stressful but a gift God gives you every day.

I also remind them that being a parent is great – even when life isn’t. When you got RSV and we had to take you to the hospital, I still loved being your dad. Sure, it almost broke my heart to see those tubes in you but, when you smiled at seeing me, I was reminded what a gift you are.  You opened up sections of my heart that I never knew existed. REMEMBER THAT when you see your dad crying at any movie in the future and realize it’s your fault! You make me into the sappy guy that I am now! Thanks for that...

So, whether in good times or bad times, I will forever remind future parents of the world what a gift from God it is being a dad. Sure, they’ll be times it is hard but it’s a journey that’s full of love, happiness, and baseball.

Don’t believe me?  “Oh don’t worry! One day you will understand!”

P.S. Being your dad is awesome!