What I’ve learned about being a dad in the last week:

1. Being a dad means that where others see scribbles I see something that needs to be hung not just on the refrigerator but in the MOMA

2.  Being a dad means that the New Year brings the same old wardrobe.

3.  Being a dad means I’m rooting for as much snow as we can get because as inconvenient as it can be, there’s nothing like watching a toddler romp in the snow in Central Park. Now, if we only had a puppy too . . . .

4. Being a dad means that my daily calendar revolves around one simple question “when’s the nap?”

5. Being a dad means that every Monday is bittersweet – hate to go back to work, but, man, work is a breather from 24-7 toddler-ville

6. Being a dad means the greatest test of your resolve is not managing your own anxieties but standing firm in the face of tears.

7.  Being a dad means I can now fast forward through an episode of Sesame Street and hit play at the precise second the “la-la-la-la . . . Elmo’s World” starts no matter what else is happening around me. I could do it even if we were under attack by aliens from another planet. Now what would be really cool is if the aliens looked and sounded just like Elmo, and they spared me and made me their High Priest for the due care and respect I show their Earth-bound twin.