Never Too Early To Be Daddy

NO, there is no baby Kylander.

Earlier today I posted a quote from an article about the inclines of stay at home dads, and my status blew up with people curious as to why I posted it -  so I thought I would explain here.

(In case you missed it...)
Here's the quote: According to the Pew Research Center, there were 2 million stay-at-home dads in 2012, nearly double the number from 1989. And overall, the time fathers spend with their children has nearly tripled from a generation ago.

Here's the article: http://www.npr.org/2014/08/15/334451114/youre-not-alone-dads-who-blog-redefine-modern-fatherhood

The truth is, I really like the second half of the quote "...overall, the time fathers spend with their children has nearly tripled from a generation ago."

Parenting is so important to Vanessa and I that we've already begun our parenting journey - even before we have kids.

Let me explain...

I want my children to know I love their mother, so I show V as much love as I have to give now, and when we have kids I won't have to try to show them how much I love V - it will be a natural part of our house. They'll see me hug and kiss her. They'll see me help clean around the house. They'll hear me tell her that I love her and that she's beautiful. I won't have to make a habit of doing it after we have kids, I'll just keep doing what I already do.

I want our kids to see that V and I love Jesus, and we want them to love Jesus too. V and I pray together. We read together. We talk about Jesus openly, not in scheduled meetings or undertones. We talk about him in the car, we talk about relying on him at dinner and we have our own quiet time in the Word to dedicate time and acknowledge that Jesus is or King. If it's natural now, it is one less thing we have to try and model for our kids - we're already doing it!

I see parents do awesome things with their kids. I've seen a post floating around FB of a dad and son grocery shopping in superhero outfits - I want to be that dad! I see dads taking their kids fishing and just having fun with each other - I want to be that dad!

I also see lot's of stereotypes and bad parenting floating around. And I don't want anything to do with that. I know I'll have my bad moments as a dad, but they won't define my parenting journey.

So when I see research saying that dads are spending 3x's more time with their kids than a generation ago I get excited! It tells me that it is possible to be an awesome dad in a crazy world, and I want to celebrate that!

I also know that I'm viewing the world through rose-colored glasses. I know I'm naive when it comes to 99% of parenting, but I'm gonna keep trying to be the best husband, parent, and person God made me to be.

No, I'm not a dad. But I have already started to be a parent.