Applications Not Accepted

Being a father is an interesting job. But it's not like other jobs in the work world. There's no application for fatherhood (at least I don't remember filling one out). There's no boss looking over your shoulder (maybe the wife counts as one). And a father doesn't only work 5 days a week for 8 hours a day. Dads are always on the job.

My wife and I were recently on vacation in New Jersey. On one particular day we were enjoying the beach. Just as we were in a groove of beaching, grey skies rolled in and it began to rain. We quickly packed up our umbrella and two chairs and started back toward the hotel. As the rain fell heavier, my fast pace walk became a brisk jog. On the way from the beach to the Boardwalk, I bolted past my future. Let me explain.

Everyone was trying to get off the beach. While running up, I passed a variety of people. But I saw one guy struggling as he was attempting to scamper to shelter. He was carrying (not rolling) a stroller, diaper bag, cooler, toys, and various chairs all at once. I felt bad for him. Not long ago, I bet he was carrying only two chairs and an umbrella like I was. Then he became a dad and can barely walk as he's hauling half of his family's worldly possessions between two arms.

Take a good look, that's the future.

I'll bet that guy used to do a lot of stuff before he became a dad. Maybe he was in to music and played a bunch of local gigs in front of a packed bar. He could have been into running marathons always trying to break his PR. It's possible he could have met up with his buddies every Tuesday and Thursday for a sand volleyball league and won some kind of trophy. Hey may have even gone out on the weekends and had a good night on the town.

Whatever it was, his life changed significantly when he became a dad. He traded his own trophies for his kids' Little League trophies. Weekend partying for birthday partying. Running marathons for running errands. Playing music in front of hundreds for telling night time stories to an audience of one or two.

There is no application for this job. But there are expectations. There is a commitment. And there is a lot of hard work involved. Soon enough, I'll be carrying a stroller, diaper bag, toys, chairs, and a cooler across rain soaked sand. No more falling asleep on the beach, or getting to the gym all the time, or watching my favorite shows.

That shows how great the job of being a dad is. Dads that were, dads that are, and dads that will be; they decide that family is more important than themselves. And it's worth carrying all that stuff across the sand in the rain.