To the world you are a dad, to your family you are the world

The headlights bore a tunnel through the infinite blackness as you pilot the family sedan onto the lonesome nighttime highway.

The backseat has also gone quiet and with a glance over your shoulder confirms your suspicion: your two young sons have fallen sound asleep.

Your wife, who is in the passenger seat, chats with you in hushed tones dissecting the day’s events. A short while later, your wife goes silent. Her head leans against the window as she catches some well-deserved shut-eye.

The day was long and lively.

It began before the crack of dawn. You and your wife, following the plans you had made, gathered your sleeping sons, Alex, age 8, and Zach, age 6. Working as a team, with wordless efficiency, you trundled the pair of sleepyheads into the backseat. The boys quickly resumed their slumber, and you motored along for over an hour, enjoying the blissful tranquility.

However, it was too good to last. The sleepyheads awoke loudly proclaiming that they were starving. Your wife had anticipated this. She opens the backpack she had filled that morning and doled out sandwiches and breakfast bars along with bottles of chocolate milk. The noises coming from the backseat were reduced to those involved with open-mouthed chewing and slurping.

This was also too good to last. Revived and refueled, your boys begin to ask — whine, actually – “When will we get there?” and “Are we there yet?” They were deeply dissatisfied when told that they would arrive at the amusement park soon.

Moments later, bickering erupted in the backseat. Being admonished by their mom only de-escalated the situation only briefly. Before long, the car was once again filled with such bitter and life-altering accusations, such as “Mom! He touched me!” and “Mom! He’s looking at me!”

The boys reacted like a pair of puppies turned loose in a chew toy store when they trotted through the gates of the amusement park. They wanted to go on every ride, and they wanted to go now!

So began the start of an arduous day of trudging from one ride to the next under the merciless glare of the sweltering sun. As soon as your family finished one ride, the boys excitedly declared that you needed to hurry off to the next.

The day had involved only a few minor crises. Zach turned green after going on a ride called The Gut Twister, but that was also right after he wolfed down a footlong hotdog and a large root beer. He felt better after sitting on a park bench for a while with his mom’s arm around him.

There was a moment of panic when you and your wife lost sight of Alex. He was soon located at the nearby funhouse, making faces in a mirror.

By late afternoon, everyone was tired and becoming increasingly crabby, so it was decreed that it was time to go home. The boys protested, but you could tell that their hearts weren’t in it.

As you wended your way toward the exit, Zach reached up and grasped your hand with his sticky, sweaty little paw. This part never gets old. You know that being a daddy has become embedded in your psyche when you hear that little voice call out "Dad!" and you instinctively turn toward the sound.

You couldn’t have imagined any of this 10 years ago. However, you’d met an interesting young lady who had many outstanding qualities. Chief among them was her interest in you.

This led to deep discussions about the future, the purchase of a diamond ring, and the exchange of vows during a church ceremony.

Then came the day when your bride whispered a secret in your ear that shook your world to its very core. You were to become a father!

It’s not like you had planned this. It’s not like you said to your high school career counselor, “My goals include pacing the floor at 3:00 a.m. while holding a crying newborn against my shoulder with warm drool running down my neck.”

At night, you would mull things over as you lay beside your gestating wife. The magnitude of becoming a father left you thunderstruck. As you placed your palm lightly on her belly, you could feel the flutters of new life and realize that this was your future.

Driving home from the amusement park, hauling your most precious cargo on the planet, you are astounded that you and your wife have created this family. You feel exceedingly fortunate to know that you have, against all odds, achieved such a magnificent feat.

Your wife reaches for your hand and quietly whispers, “Happy Father’s Day!”

“It was,” you reply, smiling.