We are officially one week away from the day doctors predicted Zeke will join us in the world. We will see if his clock is aligned with the doctor’s. One thing that I was reminded of this week is that I’ll be able to binge watch the NCAA tournament. Easily the best basketball of the year, so I am very happy I’ll get to watch a ton of it. It is a little weird to think that the due date is only a week from now. I feel like the moment should feel a lot more real than it does. Any day now I’ll have a little dude that is eating, pooping and sleeping a lot.
This past week at Charisma Church we talked about worry. At home group tonight, we talked about how it is expected and normal for people to worry, even though the Bible tells us we shouldn’t. I feel like this is one of those situations where you are supposed to worry. People probably expect Angela and I to worry about what life will be like when Zeke gets here. They probably expect us to worry about what kinds of parents we will be. They would probably expect us to worry about if we have everything we need, or if the car seat is in right, or if we will be able to get him on a schedule quickly. In fact, some people might even find it cute if we worried about things like that.
In reality, I’m not worried. Why? Because I know I am going to be an awesome dad.
Worry is really just a distraction. So rather than being worried about being a great dad, I’m just going to be a great dad. If I worry about things it will just take my attention from where it should be. Seems backwards, but worrying about how to take care of Zeke will distract me from taking care of him. Ain’t nobody got time for that.
Now this isn’t to say that I will not be focused on some of the things I have mentioned. Angela and I wanted to make sure we have stuff ready for when Zeke is here so his crib is set up. I’ve already installed the car seat base in my car. I’ve put together the stroller. We have washed all his clothes and organized them in a dresser. The difference is we aren’t worrying about it. When thinking about all the things we could need, we have said many times, “If we find out we need it, we will just go get it.” When we think about what our sleep schedule will be like for the first few weeks and how it can be exhausting, we don’t get worked up about it. We will sleep when we can, and accept that it probably won’t happen much. We are aware of things but we are not worried.
Now I’m sure at some point in my life I will worry about something. It will probably be over something silly, but I know it will happen. But right now I’m not worried about being the best dad ever. I’ll be a natural at that.
until next time…
Photo courtesy of Josar Photos