Low expectations, high hopes

This morning, somewhere between two and four a.m., I was thinking about how I'd answer the question, "What do you want your son to be when he grows up?"

It suddenly struck me, and this was something of an epiphany, that I don't have any expectations for The Kid. I hope he's happy and healthy. I hope he finds love and meaning in the world. I hope he finds a satisfying way to make a living. But as for kind of car, house, spouse, job, clothes or any of that stuff, I just don't care.

Don't get me wrong, I'd love for The Kid to succeed in whatever he does, and along with The Wife, I'll be his biggest cheerleader. But that goes equally if he's a star player on some team or a bench warmer or not on the dang team in the first place. I'd really like to have an opportunity to teach The Kid how to cook, how to work with animals, how to plant seeds, how to fight, how not to fight, but it's really up to him to take any or none of these things and explore them further.

I want to support The Kid as he explores the world and learns about himself. I want to answer his questions, but also help him learn to ask more. Ultimately, though, it's not about what I want. It's about what he wants. So I'll just be putting that in my pipe and smoking it.

More kid photos

Apparently, if applied properly, a computer and digital camera can be the information age equivelent of a wallet full of photos. Except that now, I can inflict these photos on the entire digital world without leaving the realative comfort of my home.

Anywho, I've posted more photos of the Kid and the Wife at my Flickr account. I'm planning on being pretty selective about dropping photos into this blog since it really affects loading time. You can tell when there are new photos at Flickr by looking at the little photo strip under the visit counter on the right side of the page. When the photos change, there are new ones for you to see.

A couple folks have requested high res versions of the photos for printing. At Flickr, click on any image you like, then look for the button along the side that says "All sizes." Choose the big one, download the file, resample to about 200 dpi, and take to your local photo store with a digital printer. Or heck, blast it out on your own printer. I mean, why not, right?

If the above paragraph sounded like me saying "Lalalalalalalalalala." in a singsong voice, e-mail me, let me know which picture you want and whether you want it e-mailed to you or you prefer a print. I'll try to be timely, but no guarentees, right? You want a sure thing, you come see me at the paint store and I'll hook you up.

Greetings from the Land of Little Sleep

I guess we'r epretty into parenthood now. Obviously, we're still new at this gig, but we've been here long enough to have a few thoughts on the matter.

We hadn't been getting enough sleep, but yesterday, Meg took two opportunities to get naps when Alden was down, so that's really good. I went to the gym after work yesterday and worked out. I didn't have a whole lot of energy going in there, or coming out for that matter, but I felt way better and I slept a lot more soundly last night than I have in a while.

We're still getting up about every two hours or so, but that's OK. Alden is sleeping better when he does sleep; less fussing and what have you. I guess that's what being five-and-a-half days old will do for a guy. When we do have to get up, we're splitting duties as much as possible. Meg, of course, does the feeding, and usually later in the night and early morning when she's fading out, I do the burping, changing, and narrated walking tours of the house.

We make a pretty good team though I wish I could do more, like feeding, so Meg wouldn't even have to get up in the middle of the night. That'll come in time, though. Someone recently bought for us the breast pump on our gift registry, and we'll probably see it here in a day or two. Even then, though, Meg wants Alden to just have her breast for at least his first month feeding so he doesn't get nipple confusion (rejecting the breast for the bottle). So I'll just have to keep taking care of the Thundering Herd and doing the basic housework that has to get done.

I feel really lucky to have Meg as my partner in this endeavor. She's a great Mom! She's super patient, tender, asks for help when she needs it, and is damn cute to boot! And Alden is a great kid, too. When he's not hungry or needing to bechanged, he hangs out and looks at the world, trying to take it all in. He's interested in everything from my arm hair to his reflection in the mirror. And I'm doing my level best to be a great Dad by pulling my weight and a little bit more, maybe, and just being involved with things.

I guess lack of sleep not withstanding, things are good here in Newparentville.

More photos, slow computer not withstanding

alden_12-16-2004_portrait
Originally uploaded by theaj42.

Hey all, I've got a few more photos of the Kid and the Wife up at my Flickr account, including some higher resolution versions so you can take them down to your local digital-capable photo store and get a print out. Dig it.

So, this is actualy the second time I've made this post. The first time, the computer totally puked on me right before I tried to publish things and lost all my data. Which brings me nicely into my rant about my pathetic computer.

Look, ya'll, I'm working on a 450 megahertz machine with about 6 GB of hard drive and barely enough ram to drive a model T Ford. I got the machine for free and can't really afford to upgrade or buy a new one on my $5k a year I pull down selling paint (even though already in the last two weeks, I've probably sold more than $2,500 of paint and supplies).

Arrrgh. Hate. Computer. Of. Slowness. -2/-3. Gah.

You could be nice and give me your old machine which you upgraded last year for your current machine. You know the one I'm talking about: the one in the closet that was the 1.2 GHz speed deamon three years ago when Windows ME was all the rage. Box it up. Send it to me. I'll love it and hug it and name it George. Yeah, me and Marvin.

Home

alden_12-13-2004_with_dad
Originally uploaded by theaj42.

We're home, hanging out all in my office turned guest room turned bebe headquarters. Meg is sleeping on the bed, Alden is sleeping on my lap while I write (what a deal that is; wonder how long it'll last), and I'm staying awake to keep an eye on everything and make sure the stove stays fed.

Yeah, so if you didn't catch that, we named our son Alden. Alden James Van Beest. Alden is an old English name that means "old friend, wise protector." Yeah, and it's the name of a marine architecht who built some of the most beautiful sailboats ever to float. Jame's is a family name on the Wife's side of the family.

We're all doing well; hanging out and recuperating, mostly. Tomorrow, a trip to Duluth is on the docket. We need some filters for the humidifier and some more baby stuff (breast pump, bottles, etc.) for Alden.

The wife is home for at least the next six weeks, though not on bed rest, thank goodness! I'll be going back to work on a provisional basis on Wednesday, but my boss understands that I may need to skeedadle at any moment, all depending on what the kid and the wife do. He (the boss) is being very cool and flexible and awesome about this whole thing. Thanks, boss!

Peacock proud

Yeah, so I'm officially a dad. I mean, I was before, but now I really am. Alden James arrived last night around 7:30. He's six pounds, eleven ounces and nineteen inches long. He's doing great, and Mom is doing great, too. She had a six-and-a-half hour labor with no drugs, no cuts, and no tears. So life is good. I'm tired, and going to get in the shower, then go back to the hospital where I'll most likely fall asleep in the crappy hospital bed. But it'll be worth it 'cause I'll be with my family!