James Sexton

No, I just try to live my life in a way that knows like every time I say, every single time I text or talk to my sons who are 26 and 28, the last thing I say is I love you.

Even if I'm fighting with them, even if I'm pissed at them, I'll be like, well, you know what?

That's ridiculous.

All right, I'll talk to you later.

I love you.

Because I know the last thing I said to them is I love you.

Always, because someday, that's the last time I said it to them.

Like, I have to tell you, as a father, I was in Whole Foods a couple of months ago, and there was a younger man than me, a guy in his 30s, and he was just standing there, and he had like that look that like a tired young father has, and he had this little boy with him, his son, and the son was like doing what that thing that kids do, where he's like, dad, can you do this, dad, see this, dad?

And the guy had the look on his face like, oh my God, please, like, I just want like a minute, you know?

And he's like, daddy, daddy, look at that.

Daddy, did you see it?

Daddy, can we get some of this?

You know?

And I remember that.

Like I remember that.

I remember how exhausting it was.

And something in that moment, I actually thought, oh, I'm not daddy anymore.

Like there was a last time that my sons called me daddy.

And then I became dad.

I've been dad ever since.