She came rather both in an expected and unexpected way. She was expected because we were expecting to conceive a baby. For almost a year, her parents tried hard to conceive a child, only to be disappointed month after month. The specialist doctor who was administering and monitoring wifey’s progress assured us that wifey’s health is paramount in this process, compared to just the sole idea of having a child. Months had past, often ending in disappointment, until one day the parents just decided to stop having any expectations.
That’s when she came.
She came, rather unexpectedly. One fine day, out pot the blue, both lines just appeared on the pregnancy kit test. Within the next 2 months, we found out news about the baby being a her, very early on in the pregnancy, as the gynae could clearly see the baby was a female. I would finally be having a baby girl. My baby girl.
She grew well in the mother’s womb with very little complications other than the fact she had stayed inside mommy well past the due date! At 40 weeks and 4 days, we decided to welcome her to the real world.
Little did I know how this little girl, would change my world in many ways to come. Not only was she our second child, but it made me realise, for the first time, that I was more needed at home. With the firstborn, it was more straightforward in some ways. With his sister, a little less so. I would come to realise that something needed to change in our lives – I couldn’t go on working in a challenging and over-stimulating and hyper pressure environment anymore. She made me realise, that I would need to change.
She, along with the Way, made me see things in 20/20 vision at times. I thought at first it was just sentimentalism, and the feelings will die away especially after I returned back to work after my paternal leave. Nothing changed, other than my heart and realisation, that I needed to know enact some changes in my life. I couldn’t afford to be the same dad I was when we just had our son. Day by day, little by little, she was making me see, that I had a major role – not just financially, but emotionally, physically and spiritually
She would make me see, that I mattered…alot in not just her life, but the family dynamics too. Hannah’s existence paved the way for me to force a change in my life.
The rest, of course, is history. That’s about when doors started to close and I was left with my current job. I wasn’t sure whether things would change, and I was resigned to the fact that I would just likely have to suck-it-up and deal with it and trudge along life.
But deep inside, I yearned for a change. I turned to God earnestly, to make things happen, to change my current course and allow me to pursue something less demanding and time consuming, which would free me up to pursue my family’s interests and spend more time being a dad to the two of them.
Long story short, with lots of ups and downs, things finally changed – I am now counting down the days till I leave my current place of employment, and pursue new horizons and opportunities – opportunities that are more in line with my career aspirations.
I am thankful for that little one in my life. With not so many words (pun intended), she showed me a reality of what I truly desired – to be a dad, a good dad. She showed me, what mattered in life, not money, not prestige, not accolades…just her father.
In short, she changed everything by giving me, literally, another shot at life at this stage of my life.
