My Life as a Daddy

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My name is Kris and I love being a daddy to Emmy, also known as the center of my life.  I am one of the rare men who have always dreamed of the day I would become a father even from the time I was a young kid.  Not many teenage boys my age growing up had babysitting jobs and regularly took time out of my schedule to be around kids.  On July 8th, 2013, my wait was finally over and Emmy entered my life.

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Emmy has been the best thing to ever happen to me (sorry, Aarika, you got bumped down to #2).  Watching her grow up and being a part of her development has been even more rewarding and enjoyable than I could have ever imagined.  Right now, at the age of 29, my primary goal in my everyday life is to make Emmy happy and laugh as much as possible.  The joy I get out of hearing little giggles and those deep belly laughs come out of my little lady is what drives me in my life.  I can’t accurately explain in words what it means to have the job of being Emmy’s daddy.

I’ll tell you a little bit about my Emmy.  She’s hands down the funniest person I know.  That’s not even a joke or an exaggeration.  Emmy is not even 2 years old yet, and already has a sense of humor most adults can appreciate.  How a 2 year old knows what is funny to an adult will always be a mystery to me, but she does things that make me cry because I’m laughing so hard, and she does them on purpose a lot of the time.  Also, she’s adorable.  I know all parents think their kid is cute, but I’ve had everyone who’s ever met Emmy tell me she is, so I know it’s true.  This little girl will someday make me a very anxious and angry dad when it’s time for me to fend off boys.  If there was one thing about Emmy I would want the whole world to know, it’s that she is the most loving and caring 2 year old I’ve ever met.  This girl has blown more kisses and given more hugs in her short life than most adults.  She loves everyone and everything.  Time to say bye to the bank teller?  Blows a kiss.  Time to say goodbye to our dog?  Hug and a kiss.  Time to get out of the bath tub?  Better smooch that rubber ducky first.  Every morning I go to get her out of her crib, she has 2 of her baby dolls tucked under small blankets and she is rubbing their backs so they sleep better.  Her heart is bigger than any person I’ve ever met and you can see it in her eyes the moment you meet her.

FB_IMG_1433547777123Now let me tell you a little about my life as Daddy to my adorable, fun loving, amazing daughter Emmy.  I have the fortune of having a wife who is ridiculously hard working and successful at an early age.  Her success in the real world has allowed me to take a step back in my own career to be able to spend more time with Emmy.  I work part time for a local high school as an Athletic Trainer.  My travel time to work is almost nonexistent because the school is 3 miles away and my hourly schedule allows me to spend mornings with Emmy.  I get to see my happy (or incredibly cranky) little lady in the mornings.  We go to playgrounds, trips to the mall, walks around the block, and the occasional trip to a Discovery Museum, a gymnastics class, or the YMCA to go swim around.  We play and laugh and I teach her things I can’t teach her when her Mama is around on a daily basis until it is time to drop her off at daycare around 11:30.  After that I get a small period of time to take a few things off my homeowner/honey-do lists (4214 chores down, only 241,094,812,095,190,283 to go) and then I go to work.

Getting to spend so much time on a daily basis with Emmy makes one thing incredibly hard, leaving her.  I have spent the last 11 years in the Army Reserve and have just recently re-enlisted.  My obligation is a bit more time consuming than the average Army Reservist or Guardsman.  I don’t get away with the one weekend a month and two weeks a year that the commercials so convincingly tell you.  There are many times I’ve been away for weeks to a month in military schools.  I also travel often with the Army Reserve Marksmanship Team to instruct and compete in marksmanship events all over the country.  My wife Aarika is the best Mama to Emmy I could ever ask for because she does such an amazing job wrangling in our little minion while I am away, allowing me to focus on the mission or competition I’m at.  The best part of having to be away from Emmy is my daily picture text message and hilarious updates on what Emmy has been up to while I’m gone.  Being away for even a week makes me feel like I am missing out on so much.  When I get home and Emmy runs to the door to give me a hug it’s like she has aged years since I last saw her.  If I could take her with me when I go, I definitely would.  I write this blog entry sitting on a National Guard Base in Ohio after getting done instructing marksmanship.  I will leave here tomorrow to attend my unit’s monthly training in New Jersey before I get to finally go home.  I do not want to sit down and calculate out my entire time I’ve had to be away from Emmy due to my military obligation since she’s been born because it would probably make me cry, but this year alone I have been away from Emmy and Aarika and our little puppy a total of 30 days.  I won’t get to see her for another 3 days.  I will be home 10 days, gone for another 15, home for 10 days, gone for another 21 days.  By the time this year is done, I will have been away from home a total of 80 days.   It’s obviously not the same as being gone on a deployment overseas, but it is still very difficult for me to not be there every single day.

I love being a daddy.  I wouldn’t trade it for the world.  Emmy is the brightest part of my life and I can’t wait to watch her grow each and every day.  Thank you for the opportunity to write to you and I hope you’ve enjoyed this insight into my life as a Daddy!

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