A Dad’s Blog

Do you know what a crying child is?

A nuisance. Completely unnecessary. A minion sent by the Devil himself to ruin any audible pleasures that may exist for you.  He’s there to ruin your ability to think. To make you cringe and want to get as far away as possible.

And do so quickly.

Do you know what your crying child is?

Heartbreaking. A painful experience. It’s a moment in time that takes your breath away immediately yet causes you to react with ears tuned in like a hawk.

You can’t imagine how tough it is to willingly bring your child into a situation where you know they will cry. I don’t mean the “No daddy, I AM staying up to watch Cars for the 11,782nd time tonight and you can’t change that” kind of cry.

This is the “How in the hell did you just sit there and let them do THAT to me? TWICE!” type of cry.

It sucks.  It sucks and it hurts and it makes you feel like an awful parent, even if you know you’re doing the right thing.

And in that instant it makes you realize just how much love you can have for your child.

Camden is a tough kid.  I’ve seen him run straight into walls at the baby equivalent to mach one and get back up with a smile on his face, chubby cheeks all rosy and round. He climbs back on his feet, grabs whatever toy is nearby and screams AH-RAH! as his wobbly sprint propels him to his next destination.

It would be (and admittedly has been) adorable and hilarious if not for the split millisecond you wonder if he’s really hurt.

Cam’s tough shell disappears with the doctor’s office and immunizations though.  His normally high threshold for pain melts away and he becomes what he is; an innocent baby who has no idea what is about to happen to him.

This morning Camden went in for a checkup.  Everything looks good, he’s on track to be an outside linebacker for the Patriots and that’s great since we have NFL scouts calling us nightly.

Everything was wonderful until the assistant pierced his thigh twice, leaving a couple drops of blood and an absolutely scared, hurt and confused child…

How can your heart not melt when the single most important person in your world has been hurt before your eyes?

Of course the trouble is that these shots are necessary.

Without them Camden could expose himself to health risks.  No matter how remote of possibility rubella may be for my little man, it is a chance I simply will not take.   It’s that same protective gene as a parent that makes you realize something.

At about 3AM Camden woke up with a fussy cry, typical of his teething.  Being awake and working, I went in to see his hand in his mouth trying to pull at the teeth that were causing all the pain.  As he laid there so innocently, I couldn’t help but smile as I rubbed his back and watched him drift back to sleep.  It was the most rewarding part of being a parent.  The ability to make things better with nothing more than caring.

So… While I like to keep this site happy and upbeat, I needed to include a photo from Camden’s reaction after getting his shots.

It’ll serve as a reminder for me.

That the best thing to do is not always the easiest.