Being a parent

When was the first time you realized you were a parent? I mean when your little one is first born you have a sense of pride and awe of the responsiblity you now have. But for me it really hit me about a year and half after Anna was born. We were out picking out pumpkins at a local greenhouse. We were walking through the dirt stone parking lot when a big truck rumbled past and made a loud noise. Anna jumped and grabbed my leg. That was when it truly hit me for the first time that I was now officially a dad. I reminded myself today of that importance...

So if you read yesterday's blog and have seen "Stranger than Fiction" you can understand why I was thinking about life in general last night. Where is life going? Whose story am I part of? Then this morning I am watching my girls on my own while Amber enjoys a full 13 hour (well she left 30 minutes late so 12 and 1/2 hour) day of scrapbooking. I walked them down to the park near our house. It is only 4 or 5 blocks away but there is no sidewalk after 2 or 3 blocks. So we are walking along the road when my girls hold my hand for the last part of the walk. We get to the park and I give them pushes on the swings and help them on the slides. (That's about it, it is a very small park.) Then as we begin our trek home they hold my hands again until we get to the sidewalks again.

As I am holding my girls hands on the way back home I realize whose story I am a big part of. I may not be learning to play the guitar or traveling the world. But I am pushing my girls on swings and keeping them to and from the park. What more important role could one be playing in a story than that?