29 years ago,a new reality set in for me. I was now a parent. You could say with Sara's arrival it was apparent I was a parent!
Talk about being unprepared for a job!
Whew!
There are no courses one can take. There isn't a manual. There is not an audio book on Audible.
You can't just Google how to be a parent. 
It just doesn't work like that. Oh I know many people who have tried that approach. They read books. They took classes. They hired child care professionals.
They even had therapists.
In my experience, the whole thing is just one great big adventure in trial and error.
And trust me ,there have been plenty of both, trials and errors.
Somehow we made it through for 29 years.
I learned quickly that this job has no time clock. You are on duty 24/7 forever.
The pay is lousy but the benefits are unbelievable.
I was distracted today not by memories of Sara growing up or events in our lives together, but by the memories of just who was in my life on this day in 1988. 
It was a long time ago . Life has changed.....a lot!
Old friends have lost contact. New friends have been added.
And then there are those that just aren't here anymore. 
I suppose those are the ones I miss the most.
There can never be a surprise visit or a reuniting.
As I looked back on these last 29 years , I am reminded of a story I have heard from my mentor Darren Hardy on more than one occasion. 
While interviewing one of the many successful and fascinating individuals he has come across, he asked this 90 something year old gentleman, if he could sit and chat over lunch with any one person from the past, any one at all, who would it be. 
Without hesitation, the gentleman answered,"I would like to meet the person I could have been".

I too wish I could meet the person and the parent I could have been!