- Mommy! - Mommy's over there
Before becoming a dad, I had never babysat
I don't think I've ever changed a diaper
None of my friends had kids
and although I taught kindergarten
I never actually had to deal with those first few years
of what it's like taking care of a small child
Let's go, let's go, let's go... Rio! Rio! Hello?
and although my wife would bring home several books a week
from the library while she was pregnant
nothing compares to what it's actually like
when you're thrust into a situation
Then there's just this practicalness of being a dad
the everydayness of it
which is survival
You okay?
I find that most of my day is literally waking up
and figuring out how to keep him alive
by the time his mom comes home
Whoa!
the ability to essentially keep your child from killing themselves
Rio!
Pee pee [gone]!
Oh! Aye yay yay, boo-boo!
Rio, you just made pee-pee, everywhere
Daddy has to clean up your pee-pee
The birth of my son was obviously an incredible experience
but I was also scared
I think it kind of pulled me back
to a time of being a baby myself
where I was completely vulnerable
and trying to understand how I got to this place
I remember being overwhelmed with emotion
I think it was because I didn't want to fail
I didn't want to fail at being a dad
I wanted to find a way
to right all the wrongs in my life
Mommy's out tonight, and it's just Rio and Daddy!
No hitting! Hey, hey! You don't hit me
Rio, like this, watch
Soft
- More - More!
- More! - More!
- More - More!
At the end of the day, when it's all said and done
after the bumps and bruises, and the scars and the saliva
and the cocky, and the screaming for Mommy
and the yelling and the hitting
there's a moment where you feel like it's all worth it
and it doesn't matter
It's the pain which makes us move forward
It's the pain which just allows us to be present
and to fall in love
Ow!
You're killing me!