For the most part, I know most people are clueless until they have their first child. Some might even be clueless afterwards, but that's an entirely different story that I won't go into deeply at all. I've heard many people say that when their first child was born, then knew that they were adults. I didn't think that way at all. I already had a job, was married, owned a house, but I really didn't feel "grown-up" even after my girl was born.
On her first birthday, all that changed. At the risk of embarrassing her, I'll tell the story, but I'm sure she's heard it before. On her first birthday, we were celebrating much like other couples do, including giving her some new foods to try for the first time. Something definitely didn't agree with her and she started projectile vomiting. (We later found out she'd caught a virus, because we all ended up getting sick). So my wife grabbed her and rushed her to the bathroom to try and contain everything.
In the meantime, I'm out in the living room, trying to entertain my daughter's godfather and keep the dog at bay. I walked down the hallway and noticed barf on the carpet, barf on the walls, barf on the ceiling. At that moment, I realized I was an adult, because I didn't see anyone else around who was going to clean all of that up. That was my life's turning point.
