The Big Question
One of my friends, Dotty, told me that when she puts her boys down for the night it is a lot like confession. Those moments at the end of the day when they are tired and cuddly are so precious. All of the energy is gone, they are much quieter, and they just say what is on their mind. As I have taken over Isaac's night time ritual, I have come to love this part of the day, the reward even the worst of days at work.
On Saturday Isaac asked me a question that really took me back. I was speechless for a few minutes. He asked me, with no preface whatsoever:
Is it hard to be a father?
There has never been a question I have been asked that is more difficult to answer than that one. On one hand I want to convey to him the sheer exhilaration of being a Dad, the thrill of seeing them open up the world and understand things, the delight of watching them discover and figure things out. But I also want him to know that being a Dad is not easy, that I make mistakes and that I don't always have the answers to important things even I can remember, off the top of my head, what the largest scorpion is. I want him to know how much we try to get it right for him.
So I told him the truth--that it was my favorite job, but by far the most difficult. We talked a lot about what it meant, but in the end words falter. Being a Dad is the most singular experience a man can have and there is no way to convey that to someone until you see the twinkle of recognition that can only come with experience. P-Pa had it on the day Isaac was born. I will have it when Isaac's son is born.
On Saturday Isaac asked me a question that really took me back. I was speechless for a few minutes. He asked me, with no preface whatsoever:
Is it hard to be a father?
There has never been a question I have been asked that is more difficult to answer than that one. On one hand I want to convey to him the sheer exhilaration of being a Dad, the thrill of seeing them open up the world and understand things, the delight of watching them discover and figure things out. But I also want him to know that being a Dad is not easy, that I make mistakes and that I don't always have the answers to important things even I can remember, off the top of my head, what the largest scorpion is. I want him to know how much we try to get it right for him.
So I told him the truth--that it was my favorite job, but by far the most difficult. We talked a lot about what it meant, but in the end words falter. Being a Dad is the most singular experience a man can have and there is no way to convey that to someone until you see the twinkle of recognition that can only come with experience. P-Pa had it on the day Isaac was born. I will have it when Isaac's son is born.