Sweaty Palms

I was asked an interesting question over the holidays by my father in law. He asked something basic, yet impactful: “what is the most surprising thing about being a new parent?”. I should have mentioned, I have a 16-month old at the time of the question, my first child.

I would have thought that there would have been many answers to choose from, but only one stood out. My answer is that I, more so than my wife, am overly worried about the physical safety of my son. This does not mean that she is not worried about him, just that she gives him a little more leeway to make mistakes, take a fall, etc. I realize that this is likely good for him, but it is more difficult than expected for me to allow. I did not see that coming.

I thought I would be the “rub some dirt on it” type of dad, but so far that is not the case. I suppose there is still time.

It is hard for me not to keep my eyes on him every second. It is hard for me to let him climb on the furniture without standing within arm’s length, at most. The list could continue. This may pass as he grows, but it is hard to tell. Again, this is really surprising to me.

I am already thinking about the types of things he may be interested in as he gets older. Surfing. SCUBA-diving. Skydiving? My palms are sweaty just typing those words.

Parenthood obviously changes you, but I did not expect this particular change. I am now a little softer, but I am not sure that it is necessarily a bad thing. I care, maybe more than I have ever cared before. It is hard to properly describe. It is hard to properly understand. We shall see how long this will last, but I have a feeling it may be a bit, and I think I am OK with that.

-Houston Bailey (@BumpBailey)