Eddie Lowe
Just A Thought
In the waking hours of May 6th a delivery was made that would change a 23-year-old boy’s life forever. We all have thoughts of what parenthood will be like. We all grew up with “TV dads” that seemed to make it look so easy. But as I stepped into the delivery room, reality set in. I cried and prayed at the birth of my firstborn so much that the nurses giggled. Then suddenly they handed me this little human that I would automatically sacrifice everything to protect.
The first night at home was a disaster! I learned firsthand what colic was. Upon questioning the doctor, I found out that colic could last for months! How could a human under two feet tall cry so loud?
A two-door car was traded for one with four and soon enough a purple dinosaur was on TV pretty much all the time. There were first teeth and first steps, first words and first smiles. So many firsts.
Days and nights got mixed up and diapers piled up, meanwhile being a dad altered me. According to science, my frontal lobe would finish developing in two years so I had some growing to do also. I learned to not stress so much and that priorities change. My world had become bigger and I had a little person watching and listening, so I learned to be more careful in my words and actions.
The one thing I really wasn’t prepared for is how time flies! Suddenly you have this little helper with tons of questions and hugs and kisses sprinkled in.
Then, in October of 1999 another little human arrived, but this time I was a little more prepared. More firsts came again and as that child grew, so did I. For the readers yet to venture down the path of parenthood, I’ll offer a few things I wish I’d known.
Take the time: attend the tea party, sit in the sandbox, make the mud pie and jump in the puddles while they are there, time flies.
Don’t stress so much about being a textbook parent. Nobody is good at it. We all do the best we can. My dad said people used to set the baby on a blanket at the end of a row of tobacco and check on it when they harvested to the end of the row! I’m not advocating that, but the point is, we survived with parents doing the best they knew how at the time.
Simple activities create the best memories. A day taken off work for a trip to the pool or a picnic or even a fort made from a bedsheet in the floor may live forever in memory.
Don’t forget to be a kid sometimes yourself and above all, be honest with them.
I’ve always thought that the biggest rewards handed out in heaven will be to moms and dads who were unknown but raised great people.
