Being a parent is great.  It’s also tough stuff.  But, ultimately, it’s a journey that you go on with your child wherein you learn a lot about your child, the World and yourself.

In this last week, this is what I’ve learned:

1. Being a dad means seeing a guy substantially older than you playing catch with his son and thinking “Man, I gotta pull it together. I’m not sure my arm is still gonna be attached when I’m that dude’s age.”

2. Being a dad means being hyper-aware of the line between rough-housing and your son growing up hating you for being an overly-physical jerk.

3. Being a dad means you hold your breath when your child falls and then cheering and thinking “that little f*cker is tough as nails” when your child gets up without crying.

4. Being a dad means constantly thinking is a Tai-Chi approach to parenting a real thing or am I just being lazy and a pushover?

5. Being a dad wanting to make sure your kid gets all the opportunities in life but worrying at the same time that you’re gonna overburden the kid if you add karate and chess to the weekly activities.

6. Being a dad means limiting your kid’s tv watching, even while thinking “How can we say it’s only 2 hours a day when there’s football to watch?”

7.Being a dad means at least once you will reach into a dirty toilet to fish out a coin, pen, watch or other household object.