"I don't care what nobody says,
We're gonna have a baby..."
- Kings of Leon, "Knocked Up" (2007)
Sitting here in the dark, a glass of scotch in hand (two cubes), rain lashing the windows. The lights of Seattle are lit in refraction through the drops sliding down the outside of the pane. The trees are being tossed in the wind. High clouds sail past the waxing moon. King's of Leon pumping out some grooves on the stereo. The dogs are resting at my feet. Stacie's asleep upstairs. I have a warm feeling inside, much deeper than the scotch can ever reach. My life as I know it is about to change. For the better? Yes, I believe it will be. Going to be difficult, to be sure - but I have a feeling the rewards will be worth it.
(KINGS OF LEON, "KNOCKED UP" Live)
Changed priorities, indeed. We're having a baby. Projected due date: June 13, 2009, six days before our 5th wedding anniversary.
We decided to start trying a couple of months ago after some long conversations. We had hoped we might get pregnant by the spring - so much for that. Didn't even take a month.
Some words associated with this: excitement, terror, anxiety, joy, anticipation, expectation, worry...
So now we take a deep breath, cross our fingers, and jump into the deep end.
A thousand thoughts ricocheting around the inside of my melon:
We decided to start trying a couple of months ago after some long conversations. We had hoped we might get pregnant by the spring - so much for that. Didn't even take a month.
Some words associated with this: excitement, terror, anxiety, joy, anticipation, expectation, worry...
So now we take a deep breath, cross our fingers, and jump into the deep end.
A thousand thoughts ricocheting around the inside of my melon:
How will I ever live up to the example my parents gave me as, well, parents? Wish my dad was still alive. Where can I buy Dr. Suess books? How soon can the kid start eating broccoli? Will I ever figure out how to text on this damn cell phone? Will we have to watch Barney? How soon can we all go camping, or hiking, or swimming? When is too soon to read The Old Man and The Sea to a baby? Or exposure to The Clash? Will the kid like metal, or rap, or alternative, or (gulp) country? Surely not new country. (Johnny Cash or Hank Williams is acceptable). Will the baby be an artist, a writer, a musician, a rodeo clown? What will the dogs think? I know Stacie will be a great mother, I just hope I'll be a good father. Should we look into an Ivy League school or a state university? Is Tom Waits appropriate for young ears? Miles Davis? Monk? Coltrane? Mingus? Will we still be able to travel? Will the kid like Peru? I bet he/she would dig Machu Picchu. How do you say 'baby' in Portuguese? Wait, they speak Spanish in Peru. So that would be 'bebé'. I like bambino better. So Italian it is. The kid will definitely learn foreign languages.
I think my head is going to explode...
Any and all hints, ideas, and/or wisdom will be appreciated.
Any and all hints, ideas, and/or wisdom will be appreciated.
KJT - Seattle (2008)
(Sign pic by my sister in Oxford, 1996 / Stacie & I, by me in Salzburg, Austria 2005)
