A Father's Reflection

I've had a good bit of time this week - probably way too much - to think about being father. We celebrated Fathers Day this past Sunday and I really wanted to blog about some of the good thoughts I had a few days ago; one of the few times I've been home on that particular date in recent years.

And even though as a family we've recently hit another rough patch in the Road of Life, I cannot take my mind off of a dear friend of ours who came by last Saturday to help me with an electrical problem. David tragically lost his eldest child last year.

When you are a young (younger in our case) married couple the idea of having children is somewhat an after thought. Obviously that is a goal for most couples but in this day and age other achievements like career, paying off college debt, saving money or home-buying take precedence. For most of us it isn't until we are staring at a tiny heartbeat on an ultrasound screen that the gravity of parenting becomes real. For someone who admittedly has never really "grown up" the thought of making certain another human being is fed, bathed , clothed, diapered, healthy, happy, and whole is still difficult to wrap my little brain around.

For those of us who have the privilege to go the extra distance of ensuring that human's little heart continues to beat and lungs take the next breath that particular weight sometimes becomes so great that it is difficult to believe you're not actually wearing concrete flippers in the the deep end of the pool.

And even though exceptional parenting continues to send wave after wave of crushing disappointments and hardships I wouldn't trade it for the world. I can honestly say that fathering Ben and Jessie Waddell have been the two greatest, most rewarding accomplishments I will ever achieve.