Imagine, Me a Father!

It might be hard for many of my closest friends, and especially family members, to even fathom the notion of me being a dad; but nevertheless, in only a matter of months that is exactly what I will be.

It seems that only a few years ago I was tied up in a sleeping bag and left on a random porch by some of my friends, only to await the answer of the door and hope that in their confusion and curiosity, kindness would find its way out of their hearts and they would release me from the bonds of the "Moby Dick" sleeping bag I found myself in. Upon my release, I was instructed that the only words I could utter would be, "Thank you, it was hot in there!" and of course, "See you later."

This always proved to provide countless hours of, not only entertainment for an evening of mischevious fun, but many other entertaining hours of fond reminisence years later.

I wasn't always the "goat", so to speak, that ended up the brunt of all the jokes. We all took our turns. But, these weren't childhood games. These "bets" as we called them, whether they be the sleeping bag prank, standing on the doorstep and imitating a gorilla, chewbaca, or a mime; running through the house without even knocking --screaming "aliens" at the top of our lungs; or using the fart machine in crowded and very public areas, were just some of the many ideas of fun we had not only in our teenage years, but well into our twenties also.

Now the majority of us are married and are fathers, or fathers to be. Have we grown up? Are we ready for parenthood? My answer... Why not? Sure we may act juvenille at times and our definition of fun might be very similar to everyone else's definition of immature, but who says that, when kids come, you have to be serious all the time and fun is out of the question?

I for one am a little nervous, but very excited to be a daddy. There are so many things I can't wait to do, teach, and enjoy with my boy! I can't wait to read him stories before bed, play him songs on the guitar, play catch in the yard, go to ball games, eat watermelon and spit the seeds at each other. I can't wait to watch him take his first steps, say his first words, disobey his mother or me and deserve a spank, go to his first day of kindergarten, tie a blanket around his neck and pretend it's a cape, or even come crying to our bed and wake us up because of a nightmare.

I don't doubt one bit that it will be difficult at times or a change of pace from what I am used to, but it will be great and something I cherish forever. I realize I will have to grow-up a bit, but I can still have fun and enjoy life in a semi-immature fashion. Who knows, maybe my son will enjoy being the one tied up in the sleeping bag too!