One of the greatest wisdoms I’ve ever encountered in my young life is the notion that adults should only become parents if they are ten-thousand percent sure that they want to raise children. Proof of this adage’s sagacity is shown more often than it’s told, but I digress.
But even for those who harbor that ten-thousand percent certainty, there’s no guarantee that parenthood will be in the cards. Fertility can be tricky, and the adoption process can be even trickier, so when TikTok‘s @thecaptain220 found out — after years of struggle and what once looked like more years of struggle on the horizon — that he was going to be a dad, the undiluted catharsis took shape like never before.
After returning home from work one day, Jacob nonchalantly wanders into the kitchen, where his wife stands with a knowing, emotional expression on her face. Accompanying her is a black box containing positive pregnancy tests and a onesie fit for a baby girl.
Well, Jacob takes one look at that box before equipping his joy with twin turbines and a 28-horsepower engine, his voice cracking and his tear ducts overflowing with pure, unadulterated emotion. Sniffly cries of “No f***ing way!” and “Oh my god!” and “Are you serious?” eventually give way to one, loud, triumphant, green flag of a “YESSS!”
The only context you really need is that Jacob really, really, really wants to be a father, but he shares more details in the video’s description. The long and short of it is that Jacob and his wife had been struggling to conceive for years, and they eventually began resorting to infrequent IVF procedures that were going nowhere in the face of life’s chaos. It looked like 2026 was their next shot at becoming parents, but then his wife surprised him in the video above, and now baby Beck is coming in May.
The comments section was doing their fair share of celebrating on Jacob’s behalf, calling attention to the beautiful humanity of Jacob’s reaction to the news about his fatherhood, as well as the fact that this baby is going to be turbo-loved into the 12th dimension by her parents.
His reaction is perhaps exemplary of the devastating emotional effect that infertility can have on folks who want to become parents, and unfortunately, his and his wife’s prior situation isn’t uncommon. According to Mayo Clinic, millions of people all over the world struggle with infertility, the causes of which are varied and can be present in both males and females. Innate biological conditions such as undescended testicles and premature ejaculation can affect males, while ovulatory disorders and endometriosis (where uterine tissues grow outside of the uterus) are but a few female examples. Exposure to certain chemicals, such as pesticides, can be harmful for both sexes.
But, as Jurassic Park taught us over three decades ago, life finds a way, and it’s resulted here in one of the most profoundly evocative examples of human emotion that we’ve seen on the internet in quite some time. Indeed, that, ladies and gentlemen, is the reaction of a dad — nay — the dad.