A man asked his friend why he constantly keeps a photo of his wife in his wallet. His friend took out the photo and replied "Somedays when things are getting really bad in the office, I look at the photo and say to myself 'what can be a bigger problem than this?' and my day gets better."
I've had a bad week. In fact, I've been pretty down because of some issues at work recently. Nothing new. Just part and parcel of my job that everyone goes through. However, this time round is slightly different. Maegan's in the picture.
The thing with work and family is that it is difficult to separate the two from each other. You bring some part of home into work because everyone asks you about Maegan and how Daphne is doing and you enjoy sharing details about daddyhood at work.
When you reach home, you share with your wife how things has been and the joys and struggles you go through in the office. You don't really have a clean cut deal when it comes to drawing a line between work and home.
But, with Maegan is different. To her, I'm just dad. At this stage, all she can do is to wail, cry or stare. Occasionally, she smiles. Most of the time when she's sleeping. That makes my day.
So while it has been tough the last few days, when I get home and see both Daphne and Maegan at home, I feel better. When I carry her in my arms and see her beautiful eyes staring at her dad, I lose track of the problems I face and slip away into the quiet world of daddyhood where the joy is simply being with my baby.
It makes my day better simply being home. The world may turn topsy turvy around me, being dad somehow gave me a sanctuary in the middle of a storm that I never had before.
And when I finally tuck her to bed, I return to face reality. Somewhat, stronger.
