Becoming A Much Better Father, Round 2 — Welcome to the World, Little VisdoNov 04 '07 Write an essay on this topic.
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The Bottom Line Baby Visdo is now teaching me to be a complete, well-rounded father. Why does he get to be the teacher?
One of the first things I’m going to teach my newborn son is to “Always expect the unexpected”. Whoa, wait… newborn son? I’m getting ahead of myself right now. November 2, 2007 has become a very important date in the Visdo household as we have welcomed our newest addition to the family… a baby boy. Leave it to him to already not play by the rules. Instead of popping out four days later for the planned Caesarean, he decided that he was going to show us otherwise and come out early. Actually, this is not his fault at all. My wife was examined on Friday, November 2 for a stress test. It was during this examination that it was discovered that the baby’s heartbeat was irregular. According to the doctor, this isn’t an uncommon thing but it was advisable that the baby should be delivered that day. In fact, there was no choice. The scheduled Caesarean was going to take place four days early. I got the call at work and rushed to the hospital without a second thought. So many things were racing in my mind as I was driving there, the most important two being that I hoped both my wife and baby were going to be okay. I’m grateful we had excellent doctors on hand to reassure us that everything was normal. I also understood why it was ready for the baby to come out. He’s a big boy, weighing in at 9 pounds and 8 ounces! (let that one just digest for a minute). Holy Smoke! I couldn’t believe, first of all, that my wife gave birth to the Incredible Hulk. She gets a medal, lots of chocolates and anything she wants for carrying him the past nine months. Watching him make his world debut was a very exciting moment. I was filled with so much joy when I got to hold him and speak to him. Suddenly, any problems in the world and in my life just completely disappeared. In that moment of meeting my new son, I knew what felt like to have a slice of heaven because he felt as soft as a cloud. So many things were running through my mind in an instant. I wanted him to talk to me, I wanted him to walk with me, I wanted to play with him, watch cartoons, teaching him what I know, what school to go to… I was planning his future. And I caught myself falling into that same trap all fathers go through when they experience the birth of a newborn baby… getting too far ahead into the game. • Stop and Smell the Roses… PLEASE! I know my baby boy is going to grow up and, by the look of it, he’s doing it pretty quickly. He may be just a baby, but people have already commented that he looks like a three-month old baby instead of a three-day old baby. I realize that he’s not going to be this way forever, though a part of me wants him to stay like this for the rest of his life. I’m beginning to really understand what parents say that children grow up so fast and quickly before our eyes. I see that with my fifteen-year old son. There was a time we sat and watched cartoons on TV. I even introduced him to the classics of Tom & Jerry and Scooby Doo. All of a sudden, he’s going to be learning how to drive in a few months. The time flew by when I blinked. I want to make sure that I don’t blink too often and pay attention to what is in front of me. • There Are No Favourites One of the biggest traps I can see happening is ostracizing one child for the other. It’s going to be harder as well between my two sons with this fifteen-year age gap between the two. One just came into this world and one will eventually start a whole new life in a couple of years. As important as it is to look after the baby in his growth, it’s also important that I don’t ignore my teenage son in the process. They both demand equal attention from me, and I can already tell that this is going to be my biggest challenge. For 15 years of his life, my teenaged son has been the only child. Now he realizes that he isn’t any longer. It’s going to be weird for him and I know it’s going to take some time for him to adjust to that. His role has changed as he has taken on another title… big brother. I hope I can help him realize what a great honour and important role he has to his family. • ”He Will Be Who He Will Be” Already, I have this image in my mind of whom this new person is going to be when he grows up. I’m planning how I am going to get him to that stage. But my wise wife just said to me that he will be who he will be. All we can do is instill in him good values and teach him the right things. I can see a lot of his personality shining through in this short amount of time. It’s very exciting to witness and I do wonder what kind of person he will grow up to be. Again, this is another challenge I have to undertake and be patient to see how he will develop. Of course, this boy is going to get a lesson in Comic Books & Superheroes 101. That much is a given. If I do my job correctly, then all will be right in the world. • The Neverending Journey Fatherhood doesn’t stop when a child reaches eighteen years; it continues until the very end. And don’t think that all the answers will be found as well. I started being a parent only a few years ago to a then twelve-year old boy, though I did know him when he was nine. It hasn’t been the easiest of journeys as we both were, and still are, getting used to each other and our roles. But just when I think I’m getting a handle on the father thing, the baby decides I need a whole new lesson in order to fully experience the entire package. I think the big little guy is right. He’s not even a week old yet and he’s already doing his Yoda impression. It was predicted by susiewho that he was going to be a gorgeous baby, and the soothsayer was correct in her prediction. Let the adventures begin and take me to wherever it’s supposed to guide me. Why do I have a feeling white, padded walls and a straight jacket are in my future?  |
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