Being a good parent

parentIt’s early on a Sunday morning and Mrs. Swartzy is telling me she might have had a contraction last night – but nothing constant. We still have a few days to go for her to get to 37 weeks pregnant.

As relatively young people, we don’t really have lives outside of home and work. I’m writing very early on a Sunday morning because we went to bed early on a Saturday night. That’s usually the case. We go to bed the same time and get up the same time, whether it’s a work day or weekend.

I’m very introverted and really enjoy home time. Mrs. Swartzy likes to be out and about, but isn’t fond of extended social interactions.

I’m satisfied with our social lives – however limited they may be. To be honest, I get enough social interaction at work each day that I usually come home exhausted.

What I’m getting at is this should bode well for us as parents. There isn’t a lot that will take us away from Swartzy Jr. and we’ll have a lot of home time with him. That’s a good thing, since we both work and will be away from him during the day.

I think we’ll be good parents. I know Mrs. Swartzy will be a good mother. If you recall, she gets shit done. In addition to that, she is very meticulous. She does things the right way. She is a great role model. She is caring and compassionate.

I am lucky to have her, and Swartzy Jr. will be lucky to have her.

Me? I think I’ll be okay. For one, Mrs. Swartzy will keep me in line. She’ll make sure I’m a good father.

But I’m driven to be a good father on my own. I don’t know a lot about being a father, a mentor, a parent, but I’m looking forward to learning. I’m looking forward to raising Swartzy Jr. from a baby, to a boy and finally a young man.

Mrs. Swartzy and I will both have high expectations of Swartzy Jr. because we have high expectations for ourselves as parents. It is incumbent upon us to help him reach his goals and our goals for him.

I don’t care what he wants to be in life. He can work for movers in Buffalo, NY or be a garbage man in Erie, Pa. or a doctor in Cleveland, Ohio.

First, we want him to do what makes him happy. Most of all, we want him to be a good person who has good morals and is respectful, prideful and grateful.

If all that happens, I’d say we did our job as parents.