Fatherhood Fridays: Our Future

A child looks up at the stars and wonders.
A great father puts a child on his shoulders
and helps them to grab a star.-Reed Markham

My hope is to teach my son that, not only can he, but how to reach for the stars.

It has been a busy week in my sons third week of life outside his mom. Not much sleep. Lots of diapers. Throw up. Lots of throw up. I changed shirts five times one morning before ten AM. Good stuff!

All of these small things and moments add up to an amazing time in our life. Schedules have changed, priorities shifted, and we are learning that we are now a full fledged family. We are now not only my wife and I, but all three of us. I had a friend laugh at me this week, because he knows how social and busy my wife and I have been. He laughed because he can't wait to see how we will do now that Seth is here. He's got a good point, but we'll see. My wife and I have always told each other that we don't want to let having children limit what we do, and be an excuse for not living life.

The judge is out on that at this moment, and he is still very little, and we are sticking very close to home right now. So, what have I learned this week?

• When one is getting one's wife ice-cream, wait to lick the ice-cream scoop. If you immediately try to finish off the residual ice-cream on the scoop without letting it warm up a bit, it will immediately adhere itself to your lip and rip skin off. Blood loss by ice-cream. Important lesson.
• I love reading to my boy. Every morning I read the Bible to him. He listens. I didn't grow up with a father who was a spiritual leader in our home, and I want to change this with my family. I understand that there are absolutely no guarantees in this life about how my son will turn out. I do believe though, that he will be influenced by what we teach him at home far more than what he learns in school. He is my responsibility first, and I will do my best.
• This is an election year, and we are a conservative family. No apologies for that. Without turning this into a political blog, I am very interested in the direction this country will determine for itself by this Presidential election. Why? Because I want my son, and any children we have in the future, to have as much opportunity for a better future as possible. I want to instill a great work ethic in him. I want to teach him to not look to a government for a handout. I want to teach him the he CAN reach for the stars, as many in this country have before him. Listening to Marco Rubio's speech was a breath of fresh air, and is the message and direction that I hope we as a country choose for ourselves. As he so aptly stated, I want my son to know he has the possibility of a better life, BECAUSE he is an American, not in spite of it.

I am blessed beyond words, and have much joy as a father. Thanks very much for letting me share this with you!