congratulations

Congratulations.

You get the big news. You’re going to be a father. That goofy look passes over your face. You’re trying to look happy, while fear and doubt wrestle within your brain. Your mouth gets dry, your stomach flips. Your bank account seems to shrink. The mobility and self-indulgence you share with your spouse will soon be gone. Your mate will become more interested in someone else. Your life is about to change forever. You’re thrust from boy to dad in the short period of nine months.

We are men. We are not inclined to ask for directions. We are the hunter-gatherers, male explorers of a world we regard as our dominion. We are expected to be experts at the world’s most important job. Fatherhood. Most men are not prepared. There are no classes to teach us how to be good dads. We either go by intuition or imitation, or try to do the opposite of our fathers . . .