So You're Gonna Be A DAD-Now What?

When the title of my book was finalized, the focus was to alert Dad that this was his book - and it was especially focused on the new father. I think that has worked, because no one who has seen it has asked me "So Scott, who is your new book for?" I am waiting for that question - and I promise to be nice, with maybe a tiny bit of sarcasm in my answer.

A couple of days ago I was looking at the title and I was drawn to the question "Now What?" It made me think of the first moment when the reality of fatherhood hit me and I realized what was happening. So the question is What were you doing when the reality of being a dad hit you? I asked that question of a friend of mine who was expecting his third child and his answer was "About 4 weeks before the due date when I was assembling the crib. Having been down the road before, that was the moment when it became real to me that we were having a baby."

For me, the vivid memory I have was the birth of our son. Prior to that moment we had received gifts, I been called Dad many times, taken a birthing class, toured the hospital, and all the other things that new parents do - but it was not real for me until that moment. It was funny because as soon as our son was born I can remember standing by him and kind of ignoring everything else that was going on around me - including my wife for a few moments. It was really cool - and for the very first time very real. . .

So the reality of parenting hits us all at a different moment - but it eventually hits us all. If you are a new dad, this is a great question to ask a few experienced fathers around you to see what they say. It is actually fun for me to think back to what I do remember - because, as with many memories, certain things just stick.