An emotional trip down memory lane

Becoming a father is, in my opinion, the most significant and dutiful responsibility a man could ever take in his lifetime. Sure, I have many important responsibilities in my life - husband, homeowner, employee, etc., but fatherhood easily would top them all. To me, it does not matter whether a child is adopted or not; what matters is that I do an excellent job of raising and providing for my child. 

For inspiration, I viewed "Won't You Be My Neighbor," which is the new documentary highlighting one of my favorite children's shows "Mr. Rogers' Neighborhood." I certainly expected there to be some nostalgic moments (and there was plenty of nostalgia), but there were a few unexpected scenes in the documentary that have been stuck in my head all week.

One scene, in particular, had me, Jenna and everyone else in the theater in tears. 

Did you bawl too?

While driving today, I told Jenna how much this scene affected me. I thought about how every child at some point in their life has the same feelings of insecurity as Daniel. Jenna then responded that even as an adult, she sometimes has some of the same insecure feelings as Daniel.

As parents, could Jenna and I handle responding to our child's insecurities the same way Lady Aberlin responded to Daniel. Doing so requires a lot of thought and care.

When you watch the full documentary - I encourage all of you to do so - you realize that a lot of thought, care and research went into Mr. Rogers' Neighborhood.

One thing I never realized about Fred Rogers was that he emersed himself into the world of childhood development. There was a lot a research that went into what seemed like random moments on the show.

Thankfully Jenna has a background in early childhood development and was even familiar with some of the same researchers Fred Rogers worked with in crafting his program. I, on the other hand, do not have a background in early childhood education.

This is why I am so glad to have Jenna along for this journey. I know that she will approach motherhood with so much care and love, along with knowledge.

I also realized that I have some homework to do. I truly need to go back to my kindergarten days, and rewatch Mr. Rogers Neighborhood.