What's All That Noise?

I was sitting at the computer, of course minding my own business of chatting on email or browsing the Internet aimlessly when the little gremlin creeps up behind. I nearly jumped out of my seat, because her stealth ninja feet could not be heard on the newly-laid carpet in our apartment. Sure, if you weigh under 40 pounds you don't have to worry much about making a lot of noise until the very last second. And, it wasn't funny when she looked at me and smiled. She's not cute, she's evil. I can prove it.

Her moves and words are so precise. It's unconscionable what she is able to achieve in only her first 3 years.

So, eventually I calmed myself down after pushing my eyeballs back into my sockets, my heart pumping so much blood through my head. I was nearly nauseated, but I kept my cool and asked, "What's up, buddy?"

You have to speak cordially and warmly, otherwise your life is in serious risk. You can die a brain-numbing scream or a deep bite to your own skin puncturing flesh, and stunned by the shock, you will certainly bleed to death.

Oh, yes! Parenting is this hazardous and gruesome. When you're with your kids it's almost like taking care of double the people, because they all have a good and bad side which they nurture, depending on how much you piss them off. And, it also depends if you're prepared to answer to, what's all that noise in the background.

It's Time to be a Daddy (part one)

It's funny when you become a father, especially a young father. I was 24 and had not even really soaked in the fact that I was one until 3 months later. Yeah, it soaked it in really good like a wet diaper invades the nasal cavities and you have to get your tired ass up and change your child. My mind was changed. I had this bundle of human flesh in my hands and a pair of eyes breathing back into mine. I don't know what happened to me, but I felt that for the first time I was looking into a ray of sunshine...then, the little crappy pants spit up on my shirt.

And, it didn't matter whether it was a favorite shirt or a tee that needed to be laundered and was overdue by a couple weeks, I would let her vomit on me just so that she would feel better. We do so much for our kids so that they feel better. We stop eating so they can take all of one hour to eat a small morsel of food that would certainly be eaten off your hand by any person in the third world. In fact, you might want to just put the food on a plate so that they wouldn't eat your hand while trying to stuff as much into their own mouth. But for my little girl, she took one hour to consume 4-6 ounces of baby formula dissolved in luke warm water. Yeah, 4-6 ounces. Of course, she was only born 0-7 months at that point.

Now, well, she consumes more liquids than she can probably hold. But she's come a long way. She's pretty much potty-trained now. I don't keep as close an eye on her as I once did. She's going to be a tall girl like her mom. I don't know if she'll be a volleyball goddess. But, she could certainly follow in Ali's footsteps as a boxer, or she could take up ballet. She's got strength, finesse and a certain "je ne sais quoi."

I accepted your invitation

Hey, Phattie!  Thanks for the invite.  This will be a great way to see what you're doing, and write stuff to you and the phamily.

Love,

Mom

Being a dad, a giver

Raina attends a Spanish Montessori school, and it's expensive to say the least. What I'm doing for Raina any father would do, or ought to want to afford to do, which is to find the right academic setting and situation for their child and make the right moves to set their kids up for success. And, success is a tall order indeed.

I was just putting together a dinosaur puzzle with the little "chunk," as I like to sometimes jokingly name her, and I realized how much I will miss her being away at school and doing all of the learning that I could not provide for her outside of the traditional sense of learning, academically and intuitively. She'll be just fine and will get the hang of hearing her teacher, the school's director, giving her directives in Spanish. The language immersion at this young age will give her the experience of being in a place where her first language is not the primary langugage and I want her to experience that right now, because we can't afford to have her go to school outside the country, nor would I want to at the age of 2 (almost 3).

It's awesome to be a father, but to be Raina's daddy is far greater.