There
are moments as a parent when the world stops for just a second. Sometimes it
happens because you are scared out of your mind while other times, especially lately,
it is because there is a perfect simplicity to that singular time when nothing
in this world could improve upon it. It is these latter moments when there is
no place you would rather be and there is nothing in the world more important
than simply being there to experience the peace and tranquility of parenthood.
Sure
there are times when the last thing that you want to hear when you walk through
the door after a long day at the office is your son whaling from the playroom.
There are those times when that sudden scream in the middle of the night ten
minutes after you had just fallen asleep makes you want to pull your hair out
(I can actually sense my hair getting gray in those instances). And there are
instances when the world stops as you can tell there is something wrong with
your child and you don’t know whether to yell, cry, shut down, or take charge.
But these moments tend to fade and fold deep into the recesses of your gray
matter.
The
moments that I remember, that get me through those stressful times in my day
when I just want to throw my hands up, that make me take charge when things are
difficult, are the times when I walk through the door and I can hear my son let
out a joyous squee before scurrying into the kitchen and scrawling up my leg. It
is the times when he is feeling tired and shy and all he wants is to be picked
up so he can lay his head on my shoulder. It is that moment when I woke up last
week to see my son sound asleep between us in bed with his hands behind his
head and a big smile on his face.
Those
are the moments that remain with me and keep me pushing forward in an effort to
be a better example for my son. While I falter more times than not, I am
continuously motivated to be a better man, to be a better husband, and to be a
better father. Those moments are what live within us as parents and why we tend
to forget the difficult times as time passes. It is also why we lay there in disbelief
when we realize just how much of the bed our little boy now takes up when it
seems like just yesterday that he was so tiny.
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