Father's Day of Firsts

Sunday was my first Father's Day, which alone was a pretty nifty thing. Fortunately, my first Father's Day was also a day with a few unexpected firsts that made the day even more memorable. Here they are:

1. I usually get up in the morning when my daughter decides it's time to start the day. Naturally, her start time is much earlier than I prefer, but that's not important. On this occasion, my wife decided to steal the little one away before I had a chance to fully wake up, and allowed me to sleep a little longer than normal. But the awesome part was what she did during that time. She had secretly purchased a little outfit that said "Dad's #1 Fan" while we were shopping together and presented my daughter in this shirt when I finally stumbled down stairs. I was impressed she bought the shirt with me standing five feet away, and pretty touched at the sentiment.

2. My daughter had her first real laugh. She's been smiling and making weird little giggles for weeks, but this was different. I was making noises on her belly, and she curled up around my face and really laughed. It was a look of pure joy on both our faces. Even better was that my wife was there too, and we all experienced it together. Normally, something happens when one of us is in the other room or at the grocery store. Of course, I've been making a fool of myself to get the little one to do it again, with minimal success. I think she's confused that her father's behavior has gone from adult-like (barely) to something more primitive in just a couple days.

3. The final first is one I experienced alone on Father's Day. I'm a fairly avid runner, and I absolutely must have my Pandora app blasting in my ear during the run. Well, this past week, Pandora added the option of listening to stand up comedy, and I had to try it out just for a change. I search for Mitch Hedburg, crank up the comedy, and the run begins. With music, I normally just kind of zone out and run to the beat and pace of the songs. Well, the comedy did what it's intended to, and I found myself laughing. Not a big deal until I noticed people passing in their cars or running in the opposite direction. Yeah. Guess that explains why people were crossing the road to get away from me and mothers were pulling their kids off the side walk as I approached.

Not as much chaos as I normally describe, which seems appropriate. With the passing of this Father's Day, and the events that made it special, I really feel like a daddy. A little shirt has never made me so happy, and a laugh has never made me feel like a king. I'm proud to be part of this club. My hats off to all the dads out there, young and old, whether new in the game or sage-like in experience; I hope your day was as awesome as mine.