Dad to this Monster

The other morning I had a pretty awesome thing happen. Lewis got up (a couple hours earlier than I really wanted him to) and I stumbled into his room half in a daze to get him. When I picked him up it was obvious that he had been up for a little while playing in his crib before yelling for us because he looked wide awake. When I picked him up and got him close to my face (I didn't have my glasses on) his face looked confused but adorable as ever. I forced a smile through the morning cloudiness in my head and I could tell I probably looked really funny. My eyes were squinty because they felt dry and it was dark, and my smile felt shaky and fake. Lewis took one look at me and did an awesome imitation of how ridiculous I looked. His little eyes fluttered as he tried to figure out how to squint them without closing them, and his mouth pulled wide into the weirdest smile I have ever seen. I can't begin to describe how much I loved him in that moment.

I know parenting is a big responsibility and such and I have felt the gravity and weight of that before, but this reminded me that it is far less about what you are saying and far more about what you are doing. You can't fake being a good, upright, hard-working Dad who loves and respects his wife and makes time for his family. The things that really matter are the things that you can't fix with words. Children will see what you do, who you are, and more often than not, imitate that. With that little smile Lewis taught me a pretty profound lesson. It was a good morning to be his Dad.