The Best Feeling in the World

I've been wanting to blog about something for about a week, but I've been too busy to blog. I'll get back to writing about my Spring vacation in my next post, but first I wanted to write about a specific moment in my day on Friday, April 9th.

I was walking from the train station to my home on Friday evening on particularly dreary day. The weather was cold and windy, I was feeling a little bit under the weather, and things had been really stressful at work. In additional to all that, I was worrying ( perhaps irrationally ) about my mortality. Without going into to details, let's just say I was worrying about "tumors" that had been developing. They turned out not to be "tumors" at all ( I was actually having a pretty bad allergic reaction to something unexpected. The allergic reaction was making my lymph nodes go nuts which led to painful "tumors", some of which were probably abscesses ( according to Ruth ( It's good to have a doctor in the house! ) ). After a week of avoiding the "something" and taking antibiotics and prednisone for a few days, everything cleared up ), but for a while I was worried about the possibility of dying of Cancer ( I'm 40 now, and my Mom was only 42 when she got the cancer that killed her at the age of 49 ).

So, in any case, I was feeling about as down as I could be at that point. However, that all changed when I got my front door.

I could hear them even before I opened the door ....

Michael: Daddy! Daddy's home!

Peter ( from the second floor of the house ): It's Daddy! It's Daddy!

Peter ( running down the steps ): Daddy, Daddy - you're home!

Michael and Peter ( crashing into the other side of the door ): Daddy! Daddy! Daddy's home!

Then, I opened the door, and the hugs started.

The next few seconds were a blur of hugs, but eventually Peter asked me to pick him up. I picked him up, gave him a big hug, and said "I love you Peter!". Peter responded with "I love you too Daddy!".

That, my friends, is the best feeling in the world. All my troubles evaporated when I walked through that door. My troubles evaporate at the end of every workday when I walk through that door. Walking though that door is almost always the best part of my day.

I feel so lucky to be a parent. I wish everyone could experience what it feels like. I don't think I'll every tire of it.

Of course, these moments are a little bit bittersweet at times, because I know my kids won't be so sweet and affectionate forever. However, I'll enjoy it while it lasts, and being around them will always make my heart happy. :)

Rich

P.S. I really hope I get to be a grandparent someday. While some people dream of playing golf or fishing during their retirement, I dream of spending my retirement caring for my grankids. My kids will never have to worry about paying for daycare or a nanny as long as I'm around.