A friend gave some good advice. I feel like I’ve been doing pretty good with the pregnancy and childbirth books. (Still have a ways to go) But all the literature I’ve been reading deals with introducing our child to the world. All of this preparation for an event lasting only hours.
Once that passes, we’ll have a kid to raise for the next 18 years… or the rest of my life. (whichever is longer)
I’ll be reading how to books for the rest of my life at this rate.
Rob, this I know: you and Deb will be good parents no matter how many books you read. The truth is, parenting is a crap shoot. You can read a book that says the kid will do *this*, but inevitably the kid will do *that*. You learn quickly to roll with the punches, and savor the joy; no book will teach you how. So relax! You'll be a great father, I am sure of it.
ReplyDeleteI've also found that when angry at your teenager for doing something like, oh, I don't know, maybe riding Max out to Hillsboro when they said they'd be at a friend's house, getting their purse stolen by some nefarious boy leaving her with no way home in the middle of the night, and awaking from a phone call to tears and the "what do I do" question, once they're home safe and sound, you talk in a calm, hushed tone about how scared you were, and how you'd die a thousand deaths if anything happened to them, and then you make them clean and organize the basement - the worst job of all. Just ask Lisa. ;-)
Thanks Annie,
ReplyDeleteWe are encouraged when hearing the validation. Though we still find ourselves thinking "what the heck are we doing?!"
Great story and a good reminder to stay calm. I'm not sure how I'll cope but I'm sure I'll be tested.
Now if only I had a basement to sort....
Maybe cleaning out the garage will have to do.