So you\u2019re a dad, little brother! Now what? Oh, the fun has just started. Snicker, snicker, snicker.<\/p>\n
First bit of advice from someone who\u2019s been a father for almost eight years: When you hear someone say, \u201cOh, you\u2019re a new father. The fun has just started \u2026 Snicker, snicker, snicker \u2026,\u201d resist the urge to run them over with your car.<\/p>\n
Because you will hear this a million times. They will tell you how you have no idea what awaits you. Because they do know what awaits you, and you don\u2019t.<\/p>\n
Parenthood isn\u2019t easy. Especially those first weeks and months. It\u2019s like going to Army boot camp, only there you actually get sleep and pretty much everyone is potty trained.<\/p>\n
Not so with this.
\n
\nSome days you\u2019ll wake up mad, exhausted, at your wit\u2019s end. You will understand why lion fathers sometimes eat their young. \u201cHoney, I told him that would happen if he kept biting my tail!\u201d<\/p>\n
You might even question how you were ever conned into this deal. Because obviously this couldn\u2019t have been your idea. No! You\u2019re not a sucker. You don\u2019t buy snake oil!<\/p>\n
And that will be the day someone walks up and says, \u201cLooks like you haven\u2019t slept in two weeks \u2026 you have a little baby poop on your chin \u2026 Let me tell you: The fun has just started! \u2026 Snicker, snicker, snicker.\u201d<\/p>\n
Don\u2019t \u2026 run \u2026 them \u2026 over \u2026 with \u2026 your \u2026 car!<\/p>\n
Because the fun HAS just started.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s amazing being a father. (A mother, too, I assume, but I\u2019ve never had the opportunity.) Sure, it comes with downsides. Loss of sleep. Things in a diaper you couldn\u2019t have imagined. I mean, what IS some of that stuff! Fear of failure. Fear of dropping your kid. Fear of just about everything, including how light your wallet has become.<\/p>\n
But too often in life we get hung up on the negatives. And we forget all the glorious positives. And how all that other stuff is a small price to pay for those amazing moments, like when your child first wraps his tiny hand around your finger.<\/p>\n
I would change a million diapers for that again.<\/p>\n
I remember telling someone at my daughter\u2019s baby shower how nervous I was because people kept telling me how much my life was about to change. How I better enjoy it because soon it would be over. I would get no sleep. I would be doomed. I would miss all those things from my \u201cnormal\u201d life.<\/p>\n
\u201cNah,\u201d this person told me. \u201cIf you just embrace the new normal, you\u2019ll be fine.\u201d<\/p>\n
Next best advice? Enjoy the living heck out of every single second.<\/p>\n
Because here\u2019s another thing everyone will tell you: Time flies. \u201cBlink and you\u2019ll miss it\u201d and \u201cbefore you know it he\u2019ll be heading off to college.\u201d<\/p>\n
Again, they\u2019re right. I can\u2019t believe my daughter is about to turn eight this Christmas. Where DOES the time go?<\/p>\n
But here\u2019s how you take that advice: Not as a dire pronouncement. Not as a warning against theft. Rather, take it as the reason you have to suck dry every moment you have with that kid.<\/p>\n
Even when you\u2019re tired. Even when you just want to be left alone. Even when you\u2019ve had the most exhausting day. When you walk in the door and that kid latches onto your leg and begs to read you a book, take him up on that opportunity. Fight the urge to shake him loose. Fight the call of that beer. Bite your lip. Listen to the story. It will be the best moment of your day. I guarantee it.<\/p>\n
I\u2019m not sure where the time goes. But I know it goes somewhere, and there\u2019s no savings account you can deposit it in. Save it for later. The only way to feel better about how fast it speeds by is to make sure you\u2019re always along for the ride. That you never miss any of it. That it\u2019s memorable and worthwhile and unforgettable.<\/p>\n
So eat up every second you get.<\/p>\n
Final advice: Take good advice when you hear it. Ignore the bad stuff. And never think about running over anyone with your car. Just smile and snicker, snicker, snicker. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
So you\u2019re a dad, little brother! Now what? Oh, the fun has just started. Snicker, snicker, snicker. First bit of advice from someone who\u2019s been a father for almost eight years: When you hear someone say, \u201cOh, you\u2019re a new father. The fun has just started \u2026 Snicker, snicker, snicker \u2026,\u201d resist the urge to run them over with your car. Because you will hear this a million times. They will tell you how you have no idea what awaits you. Because they do know what awaits you, and you don\u2019t. Parenthood isn\u2019t easy. Especially those first weeks and months. It\u2019s like going to Army boot camp, only there you actually get sleep and pretty much everyone is potty trained. Not so with this.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[436,8],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1062","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-2013-nutshells","category-parenthoodandchildren"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nutshellcity.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1062","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nutshellcity.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nutshellcity.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nutshellcity.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nutshellcity.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1062"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.nutshellcity.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1062\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1063,"href":"https:\/\/www.nutshellcity.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1062\/revisions\/1063"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nutshellcity.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1062"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nutshellcity.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1062"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nutshellcity.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1062"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}