It’s been 11 days since I became someone’s dad. There have been a lot of things in my life that have changed. And of all of things that have changed one sticks out above all the rest, my demotion. For the first 26 years of my life I have been number one on the depth chart. The person I did 95% of my daily activities for. If I ate, it was for me. If I brushed my teeth, worked a job, wrote a paper, it was all for me. Then I got married. For the next year I was working and living for not only myself but also for my wife. And she was doing the same thing for me.

So fast forward back to today. I am the father of an eleven day old beautiful baby girl. And now I am officially not the most important person in my world. And not only have I been knocked off my own personal pedestal but I have been knocked down to number three. I am responsible for not only Grace but also her mother. So what does all of this mean? It’s actually pretty simple.

From the moment I wake up in the morning until the time I put my head on my pillow at night I need to do things differently from this point forward. I need to be more careful. When driving on the highway I need to go 65 mph instead of 80. I have a wife and a baby girl who need me! They need my love and support, both financially and emotionally. I also need to watch what I do and say. When I act inappropriately I need to remember that someone might be watching who looks up to me. While that is a mildly scary proposition, it’s scarier to think of what will happen if I set a bad example. But ultimately I just need to think before I do anything. There are no more childish decisions that can be made because my actions affect two more important people then me, my dependants.