I’ve been a dad since 2007 and sometimes, to this day, I still can’t believe it but every now and then my life reminds me that I am really indeed a dad.  Check out my list of signs that I AM a dad.

1. I used to wake up early to go to the gym.  Now I wake up early to get the kids ready for school.
2. I sometimes find myself drinking a rum and coke from a plastic child cup with easy grip sides.
3. My most used tool in the house has become a vacuum cleaner.
4. I used to drool over the gadgets with a “cool” factor.  Now I drool over gadgets with a “child friendly” factor.
5. I’ve given up any chance of having a clean house for longer than 20 minutes.
6. Ditto for the vehicles.
7. Some of my friends now refer to me as Squirt’s Dad instead of John.
8. When I’m out by myself and I run into old friends their first question is, “Where’s Squirt?”
9. I think more about what to do with my kids on Sunday than I do about the NFL games that day.
10. I’ve developed eyes in the back of my head.
11. That little short guy in my house is always calling me dad (still cool to hear that to this day).
12. I am constantly being cockblocked by that same little short guy.
13. Going to the bathroom is no longer a private affair.

At the thought of Squirt entering preschool I always imagined him running into my arms after school eager to tell me stories about his day at school with his latest art work in his hand.

Unfortunately, things didn’t happen that way.  The day started as expected – we woke up early, had breakfast, showered, got dressed and headed to school.  Upon arriving at school it was pretty much a miniature circus.  There were nervous, crying children everywhere and parents trying their hardest to comfort them.  Just the kind of situation I didn’t want Squirt to see.  Thankfully, it didn’t affect him much.  He was a brave little guy, taking a seat right at the front of the class.  He spoke when the teacher asked him questions and even spoke up to the teacher for a couple of the quieter classmates.

At recess he was shining, breaking the ice with his schoolmates on the playground and talking up the teacher.  He even pointed out an airplane in the sky and told his teacher he is going to be a pilot – an aspiration he often voices at home.  We stayed a bit longer with him until snack time was over then we thought he was settled in enough so we left him for the last hour of class.  As we were walking out the door we caught a glimpse of a tear rolling down his cheek but we could see he was trying to be strong.  It was hard but we walked out.

When we got back he was in full tears.  It seems some of the children had started leaving already and he had become scared that he would be left behind.  Actually, a number of the children still there started crying before him and that made him start crying.  Add to that, a classmate had spilled a glass of cold water all over him and he was soaked when we picked him up.

My dreams of him having a great first day of school were shattered.  Let me tell you, he is not excited to go back tomorrow.  We got him home, gave him a refreshing shower, lunch and we was feeling better.  Hopefully he will be ready for day two by tomorrow morning.

Well, as I mentioned on Twitter, Squirt is entering preschool tomorrow—his very first, first day of school.  I’m beside myself with excitement and terror.  On the one hand, my little boy is growing up and has great times ahead of him at school.  Making new friends, learning things he has never known and, in a very real way, taking on the world on his own.

On the other hand, my little boy will be, in a very real way, taking on the world on his own.  He will have to fend for himself and make important decisions on his own about situations he has never been in before.

He will have to face things like:

• Bigger kids (possible bullies).

And make important decisions like:

• Where to sit at lunch time.

He’ll have to negotiate things like:

• How to talk to girls
• How to be cool

I don’t remember my very first day of school but we did move often and I had to make new friends almost every year and it wasn’t always easy.  Hopefully Squirt is more fortunate with friends and maybe he will meet his best friend tomorrow, it’s possible.

It will be very exciting morning tomorrow — getting him ready in his school uniform, driving to school, and watching him wave goodbye as he enters his classroom.  Well, wish us luck for our first day of school.