Have a Wonderful Easter

Sending song:  "When I survey the wondrous cross"


This Easter season I find myself wondering and wandering through parenting. Two bunny rabbits in the home makes the adventure even more adventurous.

One of the most shocking moments of my fatherhood occurred right before Easter 2015. My eldest daughter was only a few months old. Minutes after she spent her first moment sitting a top the Easter Bunny, I sang to her while my wife and mother-in-law went to get brunch. They would be right back. There I was - just a bouncing Dad in a pastel plaid shirt with his baby. I could not believe I was at Sunnehanna Country Club for brunch, let alone serenading my daughter. Lost in my thoughts, my mind wandered.

And then it happened.

She pooped all over me.

It was an explosion. Somehow, someway, the diaper did not do its job. While my wife was preparing her plate, I was panicking. Ultimately, we survived. I had to go home and change my shirt. And pants. I think I changed my socks just to be safe.

This will be my second daughter's first Easter. I am hoping she does not try to top her sister's unexpected-time-bomb poop. But if it happens, I'm an experienced father.

For thousands across Johnstown and millions around the world, I hope Easter is a positive, uplifting celebration. Like parenting, the cross is truly wondrous. Over the past two years, my mind has wandered many a time - grateful for my faith and family. I think back and laugh at what was the 2015 Easter catastrophe. In a weird way, I now think of it as a blessing.

As I continue to survey the cross and my life as a Dad, I'll use gratitude as my guide.

Have a wonderful Easter.