What the Hell Happened to Me?!

A few weeks ago a song popped in my head by the amusing comedian Adam Sandler called, “What the Hell Happened to Me?”   Now if you haven’t heard this song, it talks about the innocence of his childhood and the not-so-innocent lifestyle he lives today. But this got me thinking and I started to question myself own existence.  I have fond memories of being single long before having kids “living the dream” as one of my old friends would say.  I had a nice sporty looking car and a house that was decorated exactly how I wanted it.  Heck, I even had a pinball machine next to my bar, now what guy wouldn’t want that?  Well fast forward a few years and I am living in a home in the burbs with minivans parked in almost every driveway. The inside of our home has more kids’ toys and the decor is more kid themed than adult anything.  My comfortable couch where I would take my daily after-work-naps has become half black hole for miscellaneous toy parts/kids snacks, half fort to escape from “mysterious bad guys who are going to get us.”   My weekends are spent in Target to stock up on diapers and snacks and on the playground catching my kids as they come down the slide.  My sleeping pattern has even shifted from going to sleep past midnight and waking up around 10 am, to passing out from sheer exhaustion around 10 pm and waking before the sun comes up.  So, I ask again: What the Hell Happened to Me?!

My response?  I hit the proverbial jackpot.  Now don’t get me wrong, there are times I think about the past and smile but all the sports cars, man caves and late nights out with the boys don’t stand a chance against standing side by side with my kids and wife, each armed with flash lights in a couch pillow fort in the burbs ready to take down “the bad guys!”  My life has changed in ways I would have never imagined and I love every second of it.  So if you are living through these times now or remembering these memories from your childhood don’t forget this weekend is Father’s Day so give good ole dad a call to thank him for his couch pillow fort architectural skills.

Happy Father’s Day, All!

Sincerely,

As a Guest in the Stork’s Nest~

R. Daddy

PS: I’d like to say sorry to my own dad for wrecking every couch we ever owned!