When you have a kid everyone wants to talk to you. People that have kids and people who's kids have grown up. Even people that are thinking about kids. Probably works best for your first kid though, the more you have the more people are worried about getting stuck in babysitter duty.
The only problem with all the talking about kids is that all the talk is about the kid. Hugh is nearly two weeks old and a common conversation is about how much sleep I'm getting. I'm more than willing to talk about it, of course, anything to keep my eyes open! Eating, diapers, teething - these will be prime conversation starters in the next few weeks.
Yet this all seems so normal. A few years ago (college or just after) I could really care less about the functionality of cloth diapers or the sleep habits of newborns or their parents! Most conversations on sleep habits hovered around how much Counter Strike I played the night before and that I almost slept through lunch. But now, boring is the new normal! Going to work. Mowing the lawn. Having kids. Life is happening, and it's still fun to talk about.
Which is why on my way out of work today, when I heard someone say, "Yes, I'll pick up the cat and get you bananas," I hardly thought anything of it. Just normal conversation for normal folks : )
Wednesday, September 30, 2009
Tuesday, September 29, 2009
Introductions
We live in a neighborhood and have, get this, neighbors.
Our neighbors are older than us and we chat sometimes about little things. The golf game. Business at work. Vacations. How long it's been since I've mowed the lawn. What I could do about the weeds in my grass. You know, helpful things : ) Their kids have long moved out and we just started filling up the house with babies and dogs. Different stages, I suppose, but I enjoy having nice neighbors.
The funny thing about neighbors that one is not close with, and yet live very close to, is all that can be seen going on through the windows of a house. You notice their comings and goings. When they walk their pets and when they stay at home. Definitely notice when they mow their grass, and how much longer mine looks in comparison. On our way to the hospital, while we were installing the car seat, our neighbor across the street stopped by and joked we might be needing that soon. He was quite right!
My parents came to visit this weekend and it was a fun visit. They got to see baby Hugh again and met Melvin for the first time. I don't think my dad will be rushing out to get a dog anytime, but they got along pretty well. My dad also met our neighbor and a funny conversion occurred.
He just put Melvin on his leash line in the backyard and walked to the front yard.
Our neighbor to the left asked him, "So, is it a boy or a girl?"
"A boy."
"What's his name?"
"Melvin."
"Oh, that's a unique name," she replied.
"Well," my dad said, "they gave him that name at the shelter."
I'm sure the awkward pause was deafening : ) Soon they realized they were not on the same page and Hugh's name actually came up. We'll show Hugh around the neighborhood soon and he too can meet the neighbors. I'll keep peering through my blinds to see when they're home.
Our neighbors are older than us and we chat sometimes about little things. The golf game. Business at work. Vacations. How long it's been since I've mowed the lawn. What I could do about the weeds in my grass. You know, helpful things : ) Their kids have long moved out and we just started filling up the house with babies and dogs. Different stages, I suppose, but I enjoy having nice neighbors.
The funny thing about neighbors that one is not close with, and yet live very close to, is all that can be seen going on through the windows of a house. You notice their comings and goings. When they walk their pets and when they stay at home. Definitely notice when they mow their grass, and how much longer mine looks in comparison. On our way to the hospital, while we were installing the car seat, our neighbor across the street stopped by and joked we might be needing that soon. He was quite right!
My parents came to visit this weekend and it was a fun visit. They got to see baby Hugh again and met Melvin for the first time. I don't think my dad will be rushing out to get a dog anytime, but they got along pretty well. My dad also met our neighbor and a funny conversion occurred.
He just put Melvin on his leash line in the backyard and walked to the front yard.
Our neighbor to the left asked him, "So, is it a boy or a girl?"
"A boy."
"What's his name?"
"Melvin."
"Oh, that's a unique name," she replied.
"Well," my dad said, "they gave him that name at the shelter."
I'm sure the awkward pause was deafening : ) Soon they realized they were not on the same page and Hugh's name actually came up. We'll show Hugh around the neighborhood soon and he too can meet the neighbors. I'll keep peering through my blinds to see when they're home.
Saturday, September 26, 2009
Melvin, I forgot the bag.
I have a pet Foxhound named Melvin. Jess and I thought it would be a brilliant idea to get one more thing to take care of one month before we had a baby. I mean, if life is about to drastically change, why not make it spectacular?!! Melvin has a calm demeanor but is quite clueless. He was found as a stray by the local animal shelter and doesn't even know his name, but is a happy dog and loves to sniff things.
Melvin and I go for walks in the morning, usually before Jess is awake. That's not really the case anymore since Jess is awake all through the night thanks to another responsibility we added to our home. On our walks Melvin likes to do two major things: sniff things and pee. Sometimes he likes to sniff things and then pee on them, though he rarely pees on something and then sniffs it. I wonder what his life as a stray was like and feel I don't have to imagine that much : )
Once a morning during our walk Melvin also does "something else", and while it does follow some intense sniffing, it ain't pretty. It is also why most dog owners are often carrying around a plastic bag with them because, for some sick reason, they like to store dog poop in their garage. I even look forward to this time during a morning. Not for the smell or having it squish in the bag when I pick it up (though if it were not poop it would feel pretty nice), but if it is done outside then it stands a better chance of not being done inside!
Two mornings ago I made a grave mistake. The logic was in my head but it didn't follow Melvin out the front door. We were two blocks down when the thought hit me like a sack of potatoes - I forgot the bag. This is quite disasterous when living in a neighborhood as there are those people who don't wish to have mounds of crap placed in their front yard. I spent the next few minutes looking for anything I could find to deal with the enevitable. (I opted for a handful of giant leaves and some masterful engineering that allowed me to handle the load without actually touching it.) The feeling of forgetting the bag was not really about the poop, but of dropping the ball with something I am responsible for. It was gross, but somewhat inconsequential. I think a lot more these days about my responsibilities to other things, hoping not to forget the bag and still enjoy the walk every morning. Melvin gave me a sniff and we made it home.
Later.
Melvin and I go for walks in the morning, usually before Jess is awake. That's not really the case anymore since Jess is awake all through the night thanks to another responsibility we added to our home. On our walks Melvin likes to do two major things: sniff things and pee. Sometimes he likes to sniff things and then pee on them, though he rarely pees on something and then sniffs it. I wonder what his life as a stray was like and feel I don't have to imagine that much : )
Once a morning during our walk Melvin also does "something else", and while it does follow some intense sniffing, it ain't pretty. It is also why most dog owners are often carrying around a plastic bag with them because, for some sick reason, they like to store dog poop in their garage. I even look forward to this time during a morning. Not for the smell or having it squish in the bag when I pick it up (though if it were not poop it would feel pretty nice), but if it is done outside then it stands a better chance of not being done inside!
Two mornings ago I made a grave mistake. The logic was in my head but it didn't follow Melvin out the front door. We were two blocks down when the thought hit me like a sack of potatoes - I forgot the bag. This is quite disasterous when living in a neighborhood as there are those people who don't wish to have mounds of crap placed in their front yard. I spent the next few minutes looking for anything I could find to deal with the enevitable. (I opted for a handful of giant leaves and some masterful engineering that allowed me to handle the load without actually touching it.) The feeling of forgetting the bag was not really about the poop, but of dropping the ball with something I am responsible for. It was gross, but somewhat inconsequential. I think a lot more these days about my responsibilities to other things, hoping not to forget the bag and still enjoy the walk every morning. Melvin gave me a sniff and we made it home.
Later.
Wednesday, September 23, 2009
That's Why It Is Called Labor
Friday evening was pretty par for the course. Jess and I were at a going-away party for a coworker of mine doing normal things like eating pizza, ogling over iPhones (mainly me) and playing with our host's kid's Thomas the Tank Engine train station. For being 39 weeks pregnant Jess still got around very well and never seemed hindered by this growing baby.
Saturday morning around 4:30am she woke up to some contractions, and then I woke up to Jess telling me about contractions. She had felt them before, but these were consistent all morning. We called the doctor around 9am who suggested we go to the hospital to just get checked out, and thankfully we did some things we've been meaning to do like pack a bag for the hospital, install a car seat and clean the house. We really didn't think much of it and took our grocery list, shopping coupon and appetites for the fun last weekend (including lunch) we would have as parents. Looking back, "fun" might not be the adjective I'd use to describe everything . . .
The nurses got her suited up in a gown with broken ties in the back and checked for any signs that a baby might be on the way. After initial measurements we were going to walk around for a bit: no changes probably meant come back later and big changes meant baby's coming. First things first, we got a second gown to avoid giving a show to Floor 5 and then, sploosh! (that's called onomatopoeia), her water broke and it was time to get comfy.
Comfy during labor is easier said than done, however. The sheer physics of it all imply massive pain even if everything goes right! The nurses put us in a room and gave us many options to distract from the pain - shower, exercise ball (shaped more like an exercise peanut), walking around, a fancy bed - but that's all it was, a distraction. It can't be sped up (safely) and it only gets harder. I tried to be helpful and soothing, but at one point all we could do was wait for the next contraction to come, sitting in silence and thinking about nothing and lots of things at the same time. To put it a different way, the amount of time I had to read my Sports Illustrated went down as the intensity of the contractions went up. That's why it is called labor.
Jess is one tough cookie though, that's all I can say. All that pain, that I was helpless to do anything about, and then baby Hugh came out. Really amazing that this little guy who we've been waiting on for 9+ months finally was here. It was suddenly obvious that Hugh was a person in the world, I was a father, Jess was a mother, and we never did this before! At least the hard part is over, right?
Later.
Saturday morning around 4:30am she woke up to some contractions, and then I woke up to Jess telling me about contractions. She had felt them before, but these were consistent all morning. We called the doctor around 9am who suggested we go to the hospital to just get checked out, and thankfully we did some things we've been meaning to do like pack a bag for the hospital, install a car seat and clean the house. We really didn't think much of it and took our grocery list, shopping coupon and appetites for the fun last weekend (including lunch) we would have as parents. Looking back, "fun" might not be the adjective I'd use to describe everything . . .
The nurses got her suited up in a gown with broken ties in the back and checked for any signs that a baby might be on the way. After initial measurements we were going to walk around for a bit: no changes probably meant come back later and big changes meant baby's coming. First things first, we got a second gown to avoid giving a show to Floor 5 and then, sploosh! (that's called onomatopoeia), her water broke and it was time to get comfy.
Comfy during labor is easier said than done, however. The sheer physics of it all imply massive pain even if everything goes right! The nurses put us in a room and gave us many options to distract from the pain - shower, exercise ball (shaped more like an exercise peanut), walking around, a fancy bed - but that's all it was, a distraction. It can't be sped up (safely) and it only gets harder. I tried to be helpful and soothing, but at one point all we could do was wait for the next contraction to come, sitting in silence and thinking about nothing and lots of things at the same time. To put it a different way, the amount of time I had to read my Sports Illustrated went down as the intensity of the contractions went up. That's why it is called labor.
Jess is one tough cookie though, that's all I can say. All that pain, that I was helpless to do anything about, and then baby Hugh came out. Really amazing that this little guy who we've been waiting on for 9+ months finally was here. It was suddenly obvious that Hugh was a person in the world, I was a father, Jess was a mother, and we never did this before! At least the hard part is over, right?
Later.
Tuesday, September 22, 2009
Life Changes, Try and Keep Up
My wife of 4 years gave birth to our son, Hugh, on Saturday.
If any part of that statement caught you off guard, this blog definitely is for you. If you wished you heard some part of that from me directly, this blog is for you too. Wonder what I've been up to? Yeah, you'll want to read this.
Back in high school I use to write about events in my life through email, sending some 100 messages through my free Juno email account to the 12 people that would actually read it. I can't remember what happened back then, and more exciting things probably happened during a 12-hour layover at the airport, but people knew about it! Mundane things were happening, and they were mundane because everything else was already known about.
Things aren't like that anymore. I keep in touch with the people I care about like I'm riding a Shetland pony for the Pony Express. After moving away from so many good friends and family over the past few years, and then wishing I let them know about the important things (let alone the mundane), I need to try something else. Hopefully I can fill you in more here. Think of it as personal and the next time we meet, I won't catch you off guard.
Later.
If any part of that statement caught you off guard, this blog definitely is for you. If you wished you heard some part of that from me directly, this blog is for you too. Wonder what I've been up to? Yeah, you'll want to read this.
Back in high school I use to write about events in my life through email, sending some 100 messages through my free Juno email account to the 12 people that would actually read it. I can't remember what happened back then, and more exciting things probably happened during a 12-hour layover at the airport, but people knew about it! Mundane things were happening, and they were mundane because everything else was already known about.
Things aren't like that anymore. I keep in touch with the people I care about like I'm riding a Shetland pony for the Pony Express. After moving away from so many good friends and family over the past few years, and then wishing I let them know about the important things (let alone the mundane), I need to try something else. Hopefully I can fill you in more here. Think of it as personal and the next time we meet, I won't catch you off guard.
Later.
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