Dear Diary
- something a little different for post 101
My original intent in putting together this blog was less to generate traffic, or prompt debate or whatever. It was intended more as a diary than anything. I’ve tried keeping journals and have failed miserably at it each time. So far, “Boiled Peanuts and Shiner Bock” is my most successful attempt to keep a journal. Yea, me.
Accordingly, I feel like I should occasionally break away from politics, religion, law, music, etc., and scribble down some “What’s happening in the life of Big Bad Dad” stuff.
This shall be one of those entries. I will call my diary “Smedley” as “Dear Diary” conjures up an image of a teen-aged girl writing in a little pink book.
March 7, 2006
Dear Smedley:
So much going on right now! Let’s start with the really important stuff, shall we?
Wife: Wife is doing great. She’s recently joined a gym and is looking forward to getting slim, trim and in great shape…just in time to get “with child”. She’s on her last month of birth control and is very excited about that. I am too, as it means:
1. My wife, after 6 years of being with me, still likes me enough to carry my spawn;
2. My daughter will get that new playmate she’s been asking about; and,
3. For me, attempts at conception will guarantee an additional amount of “lovin’, touchin’, squeezin’” time, of which I’m a big fan.
(If my in-laws are reading this, sorry.)
Of course, the not-so-exciting aspect of this relates to the actual monetary cost of a child. The one I've got already cost me the equivilent of a Mercedes CLK 320 payment. Add a second, and it's an SL500.
Whenever I start to get worried about that, however, I remind myself that if MY parents had waited to have children until they could afford it, I, as their first-born, would be in the middle of my Sophomore year in high school right now.
Kid: I am blessed to have the greatest little girl ever born. She’s exceptionally bright, very well-mannered, as sweet as sugar and absolutely beautiful. She’s also exceptionally accomplished.
She has recently achieved her most significant milestone to date (with the exception of the “taking-her-first-breath” milestone she reached when she was 10 seconds old):
She is now officially a member of the “I go pee-pee in the potty” sect.
In the past 12 days, she has had one accident, which was partially my fault. I neglected to remind her that she needed to go sit on the pot, and she got so focused on a certain task (climbing up the cabinets to sneak some jellybeans, I believe) that it just happened. She was heartbroken and I had to spend the next two minutes consoling her (all while trying to avoid getting wet myself.)
This episode once again reminded me of a very simple and inescapable aspect of the father-daughter dynamic. Consoling a heartbroken little girl is gut-wrenching for her Daddy.
Suck it up, Dad. It’s a virtual certainty that you’ll have to deal with much worse than wet britches.
House: The wife and I are pricing new hardwood and slate floors for the downstairs of the house and boy is it going to be expensive. If I can figure out how to get the flooring we want for under $7.00 a square foot (including installation), I’ll be tickled pink.
We knew when we bought the house that there were going to be quite a few things we wanted to do to it and each of those things was going to cost money.. Now we’ve just got to learn a little patience.
(I also know that it also sounds a little contradictory for me to be complaining about affording another kid yet talk about spending money on house renovations only moments later. It isn’t. If I don’t do the renovations now, they’ll never get done and I’ll still be complaining about the 30 year-old linoleum when my 2 year-old is in high school. If I get the expensive stuff out of the way now, the next 15 years can be dedicated to cost-efficient decorating projects. I’ve got a plan.)
I’ve also found myself slightly dismayed over the fact that I’m so excited about having gotten most of my “spring-cleaning” yard work done. I fear it won’t be long before I’m standing out front in a pair of boxers, a tee-shirt and black dress shoes, watering the grass, smoking a cheap cigar and yelling at the neighborhood kids to get off my lawn.
Job: Nothing substantial to report on the job. It’s a job in which I’m either running 100 mph or crawling at a snail’s pace. There’s something to be said for each pace.
I’m currently studying for some tests for a professional designation. Taking the practice test before I cracked open the book made me realize that I’m not always as smart as I think I am. Unfortunately, based on the subject matter (Economics and Finance), I fear this will be the easiest of the four remaining tests I have to take (Accounting, Investing and Managing for Solvency being the other three).
Wife, kid, house, job…this is my life. And for that, I’m happy.
Nothing else to report, Smedley.
Big Bad Dad….OUT!
My original intent in putting together this blog was less to generate traffic, or prompt debate or whatever. It was intended more as a diary than anything. I’ve tried keeping journals and have failed miserably at it each time. So far, “Boiled Peanuts and Shiner Bock” is my most successful attempt to keep a journal. Yea, me.
Accordingly, I feel like I should occasionally break away from politics, religion, law, music, etc., and scribble down some “What’s happening in the life of Big Bad Dad” stuff.
This shall be one of those entries. I will call my diary “Smedley” as “Dear Diary” conjures up an image of a teen-aged girl writing in a little pink book.
March 7, 2006
Dear Smedley:
So much going on right now! Let’s start with the really important stuff, shall we?
Wife: Wife is doing great. She’s recently joined a gym and is looking forward to getting slim, trim and in great shape…just in time to get “with child”. She’s on her last month of birth control and is very excited about that. I am too, as it means:
1. My wife, after 6 years of being with me, still likes me enough to carry my spawn;
2. My daughter will get that new playmate she’s been asking about; and,
3. For me, attempts at conception will guarantee an additional amount of “lovin’, touchin’, squeezin’” time, of which I’m a big fan.
(If my in-laws are reading this, sorry.)
Of course, the not-so-exciting aspect of this relates to the actual monetary cost of a child. The one I've got already cost me the equivilent of a Mercedes CLK 320 payment. Add a second, and it's an SL500.
Whenever I start to get worried about that, however, I remind myself that if MY parents had waited to have children until they could afford it, I, as their first-born, would be in the middle of my Sophomore year in high school right now.
Kid: I am blessed to have the greatest little girl ever born. She’s exceptionally bright, very well-mannered, as sweet as sugar and absolutely beautiful. She’s also exceptionally accomplished.
She has recently achieved her most significant milestone to date (with the exception of the “taking-her-first-breath” milestone she reached when she was 10 seconds old):
She is now officially a member of the “I go pee-pee in the potty” sect.
In the past 12 days, she has had one accident, which was partially my fault. I neglected to remind her that she needed to go sit on the pot, and she got so focused on a certain task (climbing up the cabinets to sneak some jellybeans, I believe) that it just happened. She was heartbroken and I had to spend the next two minutes consoling her (all while trying to avoid getting wet myself.)
This episode once again reminded me of a very simple and inescapable aspect of the father-daughter dynamic. Consoling a heartbroken little girl is gut-wrenching for her Daddy.
Suck it up, Dad. It’s a virtual certainty that you’ll have to deal with much worse than wet britches.
House: The wife and I are pricing new hardwood and slate floors for the downstairs of the house and boy is it going to be expensive. If I can figure out how to get the flooring we want for under $7.00 a square foot (including installation), I’ll be tickled pink.
We knew when we bought the house that there were going to be quite a few things we wanted to do to it and each of those things was going to cost money.. Now we’ve just got to learn a little patience.
(I also know that it also sounds a little contradictory for me to be complaining about affording another kid yet talk about spending money on house renovations only moments later. It isn’t. If I don’t do the renovations now, they’ll never get done and I’ll still be complaining about the 30 year-old linoleum when my 2 year-old is in high school. If I get the expensive stuff out of the way now, the next 15 years can be dedicated to cost-efficient decorating projects. I’ve got a plan.)
I’ve also found myself slightly dismayed over the fact that I’m so excited about having gotten most of my “spring-cleaning” yard work done. I fear it won’t be long before I’m standing out front in a pair of boxers, a tee-shirt and black dress shoes, watering the grass, smoking a cheap cigar and yelling at the neighborhood kids to get off my lawn.
Job: Nothing substantial to report on the job. It’s a job in which I’m either running 100 mph or crawling at a snail’s pace. There’s something to be said for each pace.
I’m currently studying for some tests for a professional designation. Taking the practice test before I cracked open the book made me realize that I’m not always as smart as I think I am. Unfortunately, based on the subject matter (Economics and Finance), I fear this will be the easiest of the four remaining tests I have to take (Accounting, Investing and Managing for Solvency being the other three).
Wife, kid, house, job…this is my life. And for that, I’m happy.
Nothing else to report, Smedley.
Big Bad Dad….OUT!
posted by Big Bad Dad at 1:55 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home