You are sitting in a darkened room feeding your baby a bottle late at night. Days are blending together. You start to reminisce about how much you enjoyed getting a full night sleep. Are you ever going to have those days again? The light at the end of the tunnel is just as dark in the room that you are in feeding your baby in the middle of the night. You start praying that your child will eventually let you get five hours of sleep in a row. The bottle is done. Your baby seems to be content. As you lay your baby into the crib you hear them do their business in their diaper. You take your baby back to the changing table and wake them up to change their diaper. You now have to gently rock your baby back to sleep as they were right after the bottle. Another long night lays ahead. Don’t worry dad you got this. The present will soon become the past.
The Present Becomes The Past
You are sitting in a darkened room wondering how your child is doing. It has been two weeks since you dropped them off to college. Are they safe, is the number one question that always pops up in your mind. You walk past their empty room hoping that you gave them all your wisdom before they start finding their own path. You look at the pictures on the wall of when they were little. A smile flashes across your face as the photos bring back some happy memories. The house is a lot quieter than it was a few weeks ago. You look at the mirror and see an older version of what you saw in those photos. How did I get here? Where did that time go? How you start wishing for those sleepless nights of feeding them a bottle and having those precious moments where you started to create a bond with your child.
Finally Understanding How Fast Time Flies By
As a dad who now has one kid in college and another soon on her way, you start realizing the gift of time that you were presented with when you became a father. Yes, those endless nights might have taken a toll on you, but you got by. Just as you will get by when your kids move out of the house. It still stings. Parents want their kids to grow up and live a happy life. That means that they will go off on their own. Still, it doesn’t mean that you won’t miss your kids when they leave your house. A week ago as I was driving past a park, I saw a mom glued to her phone as her kids were playing. How I wanted to tell her that time goes by so fast. We hear that cliche all the time, but cliches are there for a reason. If you are a young parent listening to this, please heed my words. Put down the phone. Be Present. In less than no time the present becomes the past.
So I do get to sleep….eventually? Is that what you are telling me, Art? I am mostly kidding, but my 6 month old son is keeping me on my toes. Thank you for this reminder.
Ha! Yes, you do Mark. Hang in there.
I have a two kids in high school. They are almost out of the house. This is so relatable.
Thanks for sharing. Yeah, soon you will taking them to college!
Amen to that!
I knew you would appreciate this article. Thank you for checking it out.
While not a dad, I can absolutely say this resonates with me. Having one kid in college and one soon to be in college I miss the days of sleepless nights because of baby things. Now the sleepless nights are the fears of letting them go and praying we have prepared them adequately to navigate the world. Little people Little problems, big people big problems. I wouldn’t trade any of it. Parenthood while seemingly hard at times also brings the most joy and fulfillment.
Well said Jen. I know that moms feel the same way. I really appreciate you sharing this. Just another example that young parents can learn from as they start their parenting journey.