Ready?

People mature at different ages.  Some people due to circumstance, others seem to be born responsible.   I’ve definitely taken the scenic route to maturity; it’s been a long winding road with plenty of stops along the way.  There were no shortcuts taken on my journey, which  I might add, is still in progress.

I’ve always been amazed at young parents and the sacrifices they make for their children.  Many are kids themselves. 

So let’s take a quick look back and see what I was doing and why it was a blessing that there were no children involved (Or severe injuries).  Was I ready for children at:

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17? – At seventeen I remember handcuffing my 8 year old brother to the dining room chair.  Not ready for children.

19? - At nineteen I spent a night in the drunk tank after leading campus police through a chase that involved a bowling alley at a small college.  Nope.

21? – I spent my 21^st birthday at a dead end drinking Southern Comfort and smoking cigarettes with friends.  Not parental.

23? – At 23 I moved into my mom’s basement after breaking up with my girlfriend.  Winning!

25? – This is getting embarrassing.  At 25, after celebrating Cinco De Mayo, I fell on my face and broke my front teeth.  Not even close.

27? – Beginning to see the light.  By 27 I slowly began to think about getting older.  What's next?

30? - The big 3-0.  I believe this milestone was spent at $1 beer night at the local bar.  Like I said, slowly.

32? – Got married, got divorced….let’s just forget about that year all together.  Wow, that was stupid.

33? – Met an amazing woman, we decided to take it slow.  I’ll bet she would make a wonderful mother.

35? – Married that amazing woman, life is good.  Why did I ever go out?  There are a few extra bedrooms in this house...hmmm.

36? – Amazing woman informs me she’s pregnant…..and I couldn’t be happier.  Me a dad?  Awesome!

So there you have it.   I’ve made plenty of mistakes in my life, and I would like to say I learned something along the way (mainly that I’m an idiot).  Now maybe if there had been a kid along the way it would have brought me to maturity a little sooner, but I couldn’t be happier with the way things are turning out.