My wife and I went to a co-worker’s wedding this past weekend. Besides the bride and groom (who were pretty preoccupied), we knew exactly one person at the wedding and reception, and although she was very nice, she was more interested in getting her date onto the dance floor. I can only do so much dancing before my repertoire of dance moves is rapidly exhausted, so we found ourselves sitting at a table with five couples who we had never met before and who we would never see again.
We began talking politely with them (sure enough they all knew each other) and the talk turned to children. Although we were one of the youngest couples at the table, we turned out to be somewhat of the table experts on the subject. The other couples were either newlyweds, or at most had an infant. When they heard that my wife and I had five children, they began to ask for our insight, tips, and horror stories.
After it was all said and done, my wife and I concluded that parenting was by far the biggest life changing event that we had gone through. It was bigger than moving out on our own, bigger than getting married, even bigger than HDTV. Parenting changed everything about our lives. Our lives were changed common and everyday ways, as well as in unexpected and surprising ways. One thing is for sure, after having children things in your life will never be the same thing again. Fatherhood changes every single aspect of your life.
Your old alarm clock is replaced by a mobile model with pattering feet and this mobile model isn’t equipped with a snooze button. Meals are no longer quiet, civilized affairs, and are incomplete without a spilled drink at the table. Poop is no longer something personal, but instead becomes a corporate event. Bedtime gets moved up to a time when it’s still light outside, and it involves reading THAT book AGAIN (and again, and again.) The funny thing is, its ALL worth it.
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