Soon-to-be dad (No, not me!)

My best friend of over 20 years told me recently that he’s going to be a dad. His wife is about seven months pregnant, and the baby is due December 23rd. I was nearly as overwhelmed as if I had found out I was going to be a dad myself. I think I was even more astounded to hear that they had planned the pregnancy. It’s not that they’re doing anything different than a lot of people our age do. I guess it just goes to show how different are the paths that our lives have followed, and the difference in our perspectives because of this.

It seems I can barely keep track of my own affairs; I don’t know how I could care for something as totally helpless as an infant. Hell, I still think I’m a kid myself. And then to think that if a child did survive under my care, I’d be a major force in shaping that child for life. Bad news for that kid. I’m a pretty good guy, but I’m no role model. The drinking and the smoking don’t set the best example for a young mind, and neither does my vocabulary at home. It‘d make the Collegian editors blush.

Adding to my role model deficiencies, I still don’t have my shit together. My friend stayed a little closer to society’s mainstream. He went to college right after high school, and after he graduated, he systematically took jobs that would lever him up to the next rung on the ladder. I, on the other hand, bummed around home for a couple years after high school before pointing myself west to play cowboy for another seven years. My friend has a good career going; I have a good part-time job--and two more years of school. He’s saving for retirement; I’m going into debt at quite an impressive rate. Funny how things turn out.

I haven’t seen my friend in a long time, but we’ve stayed close. I don’t think we’ll drift apart when he becomes a father, as I’ve heard can happen. In fact, I’m looking forward to some good stories out of the deal, and maybe I can be a source of some vicarious living. It does make things seem different, however. It seems like come December 23rd, we’ll be living in completely different worlds.