Wednesday, August 12, 2009

A year in the life...

Time flies and little Myles is one year old today. Exactly one year ago at this moment, 9:00 AM on the dot on August 12, 2008, Myles was born. It has really been an amazing year to see how much the little guy has changed, and how much he has changed our lives. He's gone from a helpless, curled-up newborn to a strong and strong-willed little boy who will sprint-crawl across the room, pull all the pots and pans out of the kitchen cabinets, slam the cabinet doors 20 times for good measure and then giggle like a drunken clown when you scold him to stop.

The changes apply to us as well. The good is that he provides a much deeper meaning and purpose to everything we do. I've always gone to work, but I no longer work for my bosses. I work for my son, so that I can provide him with a comfortable life. I also no longer have any of those natural, lingering doubts about who I really am and what I'm really supposed to be doing. Now, I'm Myles's dad, and whenever I'm caring for him or playing with him, I know I'm in exactly the place I belong. In terms of lifestyle, our primary lesson is that when you have kids there is no such thing as free time or time to kill. You are busy all the time. You always have a list of 9 other things that are waiting to be done. On top of that, your family is in love with your kid and suddenly your weekends and nights fill up with visitors that are primarily there to see the kid, meaning you're busier than ever as the kid's driver, butler and social director. When you do get some time where he is sleeping or grandma is babysitting, you'd better damn well take advantage of it. There is no time to waste. Perhaps the most common cliched advice that we received during my wife's pregnancy was to enjoy your free time now. You will never sit down and eat an entire meal, watch an entire 30 minute show, or complete a telephone conversation without being interrupted by something you have to do for your kid. It's not all that bad, as Myles now sleeps from about 8:30 p.m. until 8:00 a.m. every single night, but when he's awake and at home, he pretty much completely occupies at least one of us for every minute of the day.

All in all, without a doubt, it has been the best year ever. I wouldn't trade a minute of it for anything. Tasty, you've got a lot of exciting things coming up in the next year.

That was then, August 12, 2008:



This is now:

1 comment:

Big Tasty said...

Damn bro you are bringing a tear to my eye. Great post, and what a great looking kid! I cannot wait for the challenge.