Why? Because.

Being someone's parent is really hard.

First off, this isn't a quick job.  It's all day everyday in a rather inhospitable working environment.   It's loud, it's messy, it smells and you're forced continually to innovate new ways to deal with the job of creating a person.  Myself?  I've been peed on, kicked, vomited on, yelled at, subjected to noise management techniques all by a tiny terrorist.   The working hours were awful.  Many times I was on call at strange hours of the night and typically an emergency would call me to action the very second my body began to rest.  One of the toughest things to deal with is the abject emotional torture that it brings (but why daddy?  Seriously, how many times can someone ask that).

They grow and age.  It really is the only job that I ever had that cost me thousands of dollars, sometimes all at once.  There is a constant financial drain that bleeds dollars off everyday coupled with massive expenditures and creative financing attempts that may or may not work out.  The failed attempts always beg yet another creative attempt at financing things. 

Then right when you question it there are days like today.

I worked all day Friday.   Drove all night.  Got an hour's worth of sleep.

Then I watched my daughter dance.

She was graceful and strong.  Right on target, did everything right.  Today she had her first solo dance.  She did that just as well.

I've had 6 hours of sleep in 2.5 days and I have to make the 7 hour ride back to where I now live tonight through what may very well be 10 inches of snow.  I'm battling exhaustion.   I ache all over.

I've never been more proud. 

Best job I've ever had.