Wow, I'm going to be a dad...

I'm sitting on my couch on the last Saturday over the last weekend that my wife and I will spend not being parents (feeling a mix of emotions combined with a slight head cold - wonderful time it picked to show up). In just 4 short days, our lives will change forever and a little girl will soon know us as Mom and Dad.

It's hard to believe - seems like not too long ago I was a kid myself. It's amazing how much your perspective on life and how you as a person can change in 10 years. 10 years ago I was 18 - and even though I thought I wasn't a kid anymore - I still kind of was. All I cared about was music and cars - going out with my friends - and my biggest concern was what I was going to do on a Friday or Saturday night. I lived with my parents - didn't have to worry about things like mortgages, power bills, cable bills, life insurance, and a 401K.

Now, I'm 28 - married to my lovely wife - own a home - work for a great company (I love what I do even though there are days my head hurts and wonder why I ever wanted to own the responsibility of an entire software product). And to that list of grown up things I do now - I am about to add parenting.

To say I'm not nervous - I would be lying to you. Sure, I'm not anywhere near as nervous as I was 9 months ago - but there's still many things for me to learn. There's also many new things for me to think about. All of the sudden - the lessons of life taught to me by parents seem more real than ever. Also, all the concerns they had that I never understood as a child and teenager - seem much more real and much more valid than I once thought.

Yes - all I can think as I sit on my couch is wow, I'm going to be a dad...