Father’s Day – it is difficult to imagine, but the reality is, this is my 8th Father’s Day as a dad and I have been thinking about what it means to be a dad. So many wonderful memories. So many wonderful feelings.
Although I was pretty mature, well, maybe not mature, but older than the average dude in the maternity ward, I figured I would have an advantage over the other, younger guys as we all became dads.
The reality is, nothing could have prepared me for twin daughters who were born 6 weeks early and weighing in a couple of ounces over four pounds each.
Take a good long look at the picture above.
I have pretty regular sized hands so you can imagine how tiny my daughter’s little hand really was. For obvious reasons, one of the first lessons that my daughters taught me was how to be gentle. #ThanksBaby.
But they grew. My daughters did grow. And they found their voices. Oh have they ever found their voices. And you know, I grew too because the reality is, when a baby is born, a dad is born.
When my daughters were born, I began to better understand my own dad. I began to understand the difficult choices my dad had to make around balancing being a supportive dad to me and at the same time be able to respect his paid work responsibilities.
I guess I have my daughters to thank for helping me better understand my dad. #ThanksBaby
And just like my dad did, I had to learn to balance being a dad with my work responsibilities. So I was often sitting at my desk doing work while holding my daughters in my arms.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zNPpvebb1Ds
Even now, when I am at home sitting at my desk doing my work, and my daughters call me to join them for a tea party or to visit and “shop” in the store that they have built in our living room, I inwardly grimace knowing that leaving my work will mean a longer evening of work after they go to sleep, but I get up out of my chair and I go to “shop” in their stores. And their smiles. Yes. Those smiles. #ThanksBaby.
My daughters are a blessing in so many ways. Yep, there have been days when I go to sleep knowing that I may never win the “dad of the year” award, but there are far more days when I am tucking my daughters in to sleep and they reach up with their little arms to hug me and I hear their sleepy little voice say, “I love you papa”. Those are the times that make everything worthwhile. #ThanksBaby.
And while my daughters no longer need diapers, I think back to the times when we did use diapers and how for more than 50 years, moms and dads, like my wife and I did, we all trusted Pampers complete range of diapers, wipes, and training pants to help us care for our babies as they grew from infants to toddlers.
To learn more about Pampers products, to join the Pampers Rewards program, and to find ideas and information to help your baby get the most out of love, sleep, and play, you can visit www.pampers.com.
Disclosure: Although I have partnered with Life of Dad and Pampers for this promotion, my thoughts on parenthood and all the warm fuzzy memories I have discussed in this blog post are my own. As always, editorial control remains under my control.