Recently a co-worker of mine entered fatherhood. They had a baby girl after dealing with a good amount of uncertainty. They are good people and she will have a great home to grow up in.
I began to reflect on my own fathering and I thought back to my favorite picture of my daughter. My wife had to have an emergency c-section and we were rushed into surgery. I had everything ready. I had the outfit complete with booties and hat, I thought to bring the camera for the first picture of the newly arriving princess of the house. She was born, taken to the table and the nurse asked if I would like to have her take the shot. Since I was not allowed to go past the curtain I said yes and peeked around the curtain at my first born child. The nurse began to show signs of confusion and then finally told me that she didn't think it took. I was momentarily devastated. I was afraid my wife would be disappointed but she was still pretty drugged up so that conversation would have to wait.
When we had the roll of pictures developed we made a shocking discovery. The picture did take and it was perfect. It was if she was looking right at me and I was looking right at her. When I think about that picture I always remind my self that situations may be difficult but it always works out.
This has come to shape my philosophy on fatherhood. If you put yourself in the right place and provide opportunities for your kids they will turn out just fine. Luckily my kids are more than just fine, they're freakin great and I wouldn't trade any experience in the world for the one in this picture.
