Daddin': The Verb of Being a Dad

Lillian–“Lil Girl,” as her dad, my oldest son, calls her–will be two years old soon.  Very soon.  Two years.  TWO years.  Two YEARS.  No matter how I place the emphasis, there is no easy way to comprehend how fast time has flown and how little of it I have seen.  I can’t change the pace of the former but I can change the latter.  I have to.

Two years ago, I was awaiting the delivery of my first copy of my book Daddin’.  It arrived 48 hours before Lil Girl’s birth and her dad received my copy.  “Well, son, welcome to the fun of being a dad,” I said…or something to that effect…as we stood in the waiting room of the hospital where Lil was about to be born.  Then I blinked, and now it is today.

Is it the momentum gained by my own aging process that made the last two years go so fast, or was it the too-few times that I spent time with her?

The benefit of daddin’ is that all the time appears to be in front.  For granddaddin’, the bulk of time is behind me. For Lil’s second birthday, I am going to give myself a gift for the years to come…more time with her.