The first snowflakes of the much
anticipated blizzard started to fall, just as we were getting ready to take our
newborn home from the hospital. We
carefully strapped her into the brand new way-too-expensive infant car seat
(which had been installed previously by a volunteer in our local police
department) and I climbed into the backseat. Slowly and cautiously, my husband began to
drive.
“I’m not
prepared for this,” my usually confident husband said in a shaky voice.
“Relax,”
I assured him, “it’s just a few flakes; we’ll be at home way before there’s any
real snow.”
“No,” he
said, “I don’t mean driving in the snow; I mean fatherhood! I’m not prepared
for this!”
Does any parent ever feel sufficiently prepared for parenthood? How could we have been ready for the
debilitating effects of sleep deprivation or have anticipated the depths of
love we feel? Could we even have imagined that
with everything we want to bring to our children, they would, in turn, be
bringing to us reminders of our own joy, wonder, optimism?
I could never have envisioned all that
parenthood would teach me about my strengths and shortcomings, about my
marriage, and about my priorities. Parenthood teaches us–expands us, stretches
us, strengthens us–in ways we can neither anticipate nor prepare for. What have
been the unexpected lessons that caring for your children has taught you?
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