baby letterHey little buddy.

We don’t know each other, but I’m going to be your dad. Yeah, that sounds weird to me too. I haven’t met you yet, but I did get to see you the other day. You look a lot like a little chicken nugget growing in Nicole’s belly. You’ll grow out of that phase soon and hopefully look a lot like your mom. We also got to hear your heart beat. That thing’s pumping away getting you ready to come out here and be with us. The doctor says you’re right on track and we should get to see you in just over six months.

Before you get here, I want to take a minute to tell you a few things. You won’t remember any of them, but they’re things I wish I would’ve known when I was your age.

1) I’m an idiot.
I know you’re going to look at me and think I’m the greatest thing in the world. That’ll wear off. You’ll soon learn I have absolutely no clue what I’m doing. Your mom and I have never done this before. The most we’ve ever taken care of is a dog and all she does is eat, sleep, and poop.

As you get older and start growing up, I won’t have a playbook on how to do things. I’m figuring it out as I go just like you are. My promise to you is that when you do something stupid, I’ll forgive you because you might not know any better. The only thing I ask is you do the same because I don’t know any better either.

2) Your mom is awesome.
Right now, you’re in her belly beating her up pretty good. She hasn’t felt great for the past couple months because you’re in there growing into who you’re going to be. That takes a lot of energy from her. You know the cool thing about it? She’s taken it like a champ. She has prayed for you for a long time and she’s excited to get to know you. She talks a lot about your room and your bed and all the things she wants to get you. Whatever you do in life, I want you to know how great she is.

Because she’s so great, I need you to know she’s going to be my #1 priority. I’m going to love the crap out of you and do everything I can to help you have a great life, but I can’t do that unless I love her first. There will be nights or weekends where I leave you with a baby sitter so I can spend time with her. That’s not because I don’t love you. It’s because I love her too and don’t ever want that love to run out. For me to be the best dad I can be to you, I have to be the best husband I can be to her.

3) You’re growing into something awesome right now.
I don’t know what it is exactly just yet, but you’ve been created to do something great. It may take some time to figure out, and we may have to try a lot of different things, but there’s a role written for only you to play. I’m going to do whatever I can to help you discover it. I’ve got this big dream to change the world and I know you can help me with it. Doing it together would be a lot more fun than doing it by myself.

4) I’m still an idiot.
I can’t say that enough. I really have no clue what the heck I’m doing.

5) Your mom and I pray for you a lot.
Because we love you, and because Jesus loves you, we talk to him a lot about you. We tell him how excited we are to meet you. We ask him to take care of you and to help your little body form perfectly. We hope you get to know him soon after you get here. He’s a great dude to know. He’s the guy you can always turn to when you’re scared and don’t know what to do. If you ever need anything, he’ll be there for you whenever you need him. He’s cool like that.

6) We wear red and blue, not orange.
When you’re born, you’re going to see a lot of this awful shade of orange. People are going to get you clothes in that color. It’s because we live in the same town as the University of Tennessee. They mean well, but we’re not Tennessee fans. We’re Liberty fans and North Carolina fans. Don’t worry, I’ll teach you both the fight songs and won’t be sad if your first words are, “Go Flames!”

7) I really hope you don’t get my nose.
It’s gigantic and a little awkward. My dad cursed me with it. His dad cursed him. And his dad’s dad cursed him. It’s kind of a Carone thing. It’s not the end of the world, but if I’m getting to pick, I hope you get your mom’s.

8) No matter what you do, I will always love you.
From the morning your mom woke me up to tell me you existed, I’ve loved you. Nothing you can do will ever stop that. There may be times we don’t like each other, but I will always love you. Everything I do for you from now until I’m no longer here is because I love you. It may not make sense at the time, and it certainly didn’t for me when I was your age, but I promise I’m doing it because I love you. Just trust me on that.

That’s all I have for now. I’m sure I’ll think of more before you arrive. I’ll try to write those things down as well. There’s only six and a half months til you get here. I can’t wait to meet you. We’re going to have some fun together.

Say your prayers and your mom will take your vitamins.

Have a nice day.

-Your dad

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