There’s a Brad Paisley song called “Anything Like Me,” and woo boy if that ain’t the truth.
I’m already apologizing to my wife Rachel about the things our son is going to do. He’ll raise some hell and get into some trouble, but he’ll love his mama that’s for sure.
When I first learned the news, I wrote an article about how I was feeling (I’ll link that below this paragraph). In it, I outlined how I didn’t know how to feel. It wasn’t this rushing excitement or 100% joy you may see all over the internet. We were barely 3 months into our marriage! What happened to “Yeah, we’re gonna wait for two years or so!” That was some bull, haha.
We decided a month or two into our marriage we wanted to trust God with when we would have a baby. I trust God way more than I trust myself when it comes to life events and planning anyway. I didn’t share this at the time, but here I am in quarantine AGAIN with COVID, so who cares. I got COVID right after New Year’s. I was quarantined in the bedroom for 5 days away from a wife who loves her snuggles, neck massages, and foot rubs. Don’t let her fool ya, she missed me (and I missed her, too). I came out of quarantine on Saturday, and Ray told me “Come look at this shirt I made you for our upcoming trip to Disney!”
I walked out and into the guest bedroom, where I saw a little baby onesie with the words “Hello Daddy” stitched into them. Alongside it was a Darth Vader long-sleeve dry-fit that said “I Am Your Father.” A day I’ll never forget.
So now, fast forward about 7 months. Rachel is 37 weeks pregnant. We’re 3 weeks away from the finish line. At 35 weeks, the big fella was measuring at 7.6 pounds. I was a 9.3 pound baby, so we’ll see if he beats his daddy.
Months and months went by, and Rachel kept asking me “Can you believe it?” Or the classic “We’re having a baby!” out of absolutely nowhere. I always said “Yeah, I can believe it,” playing it off cool.
But let me tell you what folks, for some reason during our 36 week appointment at the OBGYN, it finally hit me. I was sitting in the chair listening to his little heart beat 140 times a minute. The doctor had Rachel sign some paperwork that had to do with the delivery, and I realized “holy **** this is happening.” My eyes got real big and I about felt my heart hop out of my chest.
This isn’t the first time something like this has happened, and it won’t be the last. I’ve found myself getting emotional during movies where there’s a father/son moment. Or in any Disney movie where they kill off the dad, it hits different.
We chose the name in classic Sheehan fashion. Over a half-rack of barbecue ribs alongside many other BBQ classics. We were in Kansas City for a family wedding (shoutout Patrick & McKinna) and we had lunch out that day. I’m going to write a separate article about that once the name is released, so stay tuned!
I pray my son loves his mama as much as I do. I’ve said it once and I’ll say it again, she’s got a soft heart. I hope he realizes that, protects it, and protects her. If he’s “Anything Like Me,” he will.
I hope I can teach him to do the right thing. I hope he doesn’t make the same mistakes I did. But I do hope he makes *some* mistakes, within reason, to learn and grow as a person. We aren’t perfect, and sometimes in our lowest moments is when we truly define ourselves and improve upon who we are.
I pray he has a sense of humor. I want him to make his mama laugh until she cries. I want to throw the baseball with him in the backyard and have him laugh at my stupid jokes. I hope he loves barbecue as much as I do. I want to make him the best pork steaks he’s ever had!
I want him to experience traveling like I have. To see the beaches in Florida and California, the mountains in Colorado, the deserts of Texas, and the Great Lakes in Michigan.
Link to trip in Michigan HERE!
Am I ready? Hell if I know! What does being ready for a tiny human being look like? I’d pay a million bucks to the person who can perfectly teach me that answer. Pretty soon we’ll be feeding you and wiping your butt at all hours of the day!
I do know one thing, I am ready to meet him. I’m ready to hold him, care for him, and to love him. I’m ready for him to meet his grandparents (and great grandparents!) His aunts, uncles, cousins… he is already so loved.
With much love from your daddy, we’ll see you soon.
Matt Sheehan Official 