Let me share a little about my family. My name is Adam and I met my beautiful wife Valerie during the first week of our freshman year in college at Northwest Missouri State University, in Maryville, MO. In 2004, (which now seems like a lifetime ago) we were married. We have three children, all boys, under the age of five. Abram is our oldest and has just started kindergarten at Lincoln Public Schools. Ethan, our three year old, followed Abram in 2010, and then we were surprised in 2011 with the birth of our third and final son, Tyler. I am a certified elementary teacher and currently stay home with the boys.
I won’t try and detail our birth experiences in this post because it will be full of inaccuracies; not one childbirth mimics another and undoubtedly, I will get the details twisted. However, I will offer advice to other dads and urge you to stay at the head of the bed. The first childbirth was the most inundating because of new-parent questions and all the uncertainty that came with it. By the time Tyler arrived, we had potty-trained Abram and the most difficult birthing decision (if you can call it that) was where Abram and Ethan might go during delivery. The whole process really would be less complicated if deliveries only took place between the hours of 8 a.m. and 5 p.m.
It really is difficult, the job of being a parent. No two kids are the same. The worries of my parents are now my own. My hope for my children is that they grow up to be healthy, respectful, and without a sense of entitlement. I want them to know how comforting a home-cooked meal can be, so maybe they will visit once in a while when they’re grown. Most of all, I want them each to know that dedication and trustworthiness will carry them far in life and bring them happiness.
