Great Novels of Parenting: Book I

The day dawned crisp and sunny. The air was thick with birds singing, dogs barking and the cacophony of children at play. I awoke with that content feeling deep in my gut. It was the solid feeling that all is well, and will remain well through the foreseeable future. It’s like having eaten a slow satisfying meal and stopping before you get overly full combined with the numbness of floating on the edge of sobriety, without artificial inducement.
I gained consciousness slowly, taking in the sounds, smelling the coffee brewing downstairs. Suddenly, I gasped as though punched. My stomach had just been crushed inwards, forcing the last bits of air out of my lungs. I was too shocked to yell, and almost passed out. As I tried to gather my body back under control, I heard “morning daddy!” from the 3 year old gut buster that had crash landed on my belly.