To follow up on yesterday’s post about the best thing(s) about being a dad I thought I’d share what I think is the absolutely hardest part about being a father. You may have heard that the sleepless nights, dirty diapers, and the baby crying is the hardest part, but that not it from my perspective. Those parts are not very fun sometimes, but they are easy compared to the real thing that is the hardest.

What really is the hardest part of being a dad is what I call the “cloud of responsibility.” Picture the Peanuts comic strip where the storm cloud follows Charlie Brown around. That’s kind of what the cloud does. It’s there no matter where I am or what I’m doing. Now that Emory is here, I know for certain that I am responsibile for the well-being of another person. That’s pressure.

And when I say responsible I mean EVERY LAST ASPECT OF HER LIFE will be a direct reflection, for the most part, on how well I do as a father. I’ve read plenty of studies that show that if the dad is a positive influence on his child’s life she will be happier, healither, and have a better confidence in herself than if he’s absent. But on the flipside if a dad is not a positive influence her life will pretty much be a wreck. (I’m exaggerating, obviously).

Having this said, I don’t mind the cloud being there. It makes me sharper. It inspires me to work harder. I know that, with God’s help, I will be up to the challenge.