The Takeover.

Have you ever heard of a corporate takeover? It's when someone buys more than 50% of corporate stock without announcing it, then they roll in and tell everyone to kiss up to the new boss. The kid isn't even here yet and her stuff has slowly, but surely, been taking up more than 50% of our space. It's crazy! Then people tell us all these things we're still missing... I don't get it! This is a private takeover. Well, as private as can be. No one else seems to be surprised. She's not even here and she has more clothes than me! Being a GQ reader, that's saying something.

The Thanksgiving.

     Happy Thanksgiving everyone! I have so much to be thankful for right now, it's not even funny. I know I don't promote the fact that I'm Christian, and this site isn't necessarily just for Christians, but today I'm reminded of how thankful I really am, all I have to be thankful for, and why I have been taken care of the way I have. The "golden rule" of scripture is couched in a framework of parenthood (Matthew 7:10-12) and parents are to be models of God here on earth. The closer I get to having this little girl, the more I realize how God would do anything to care for me. All the things Catie and I have been dealing with in these last few months have only proven how much we're really cared for. We've always been provided a place to live, food to eat, jobs to do, and just the right amount of money. This Thanksgiving, I'm grateful my (new) family has brought me a greater understanding of what it really means to be loved by God. My faith has been renewed and I can't wait to see what is in store for us in the next few years. Happy Thanksgiving everyone. May we wake up every morning with thanks on our mind.

The Lamaze.

     Went to Lamaze class today. While most of the stuff in the class I already knew, there was a couple of things it provided I found helpful and one thing I couldn't have gotten anywhere else. The breathing exercises seemed to help and our instructor was honest about what to expect and how well they actually worked. This helped to make our expectations a little more accurate. The one thing I couldn't have gotten anywhere else is witnessing other couples in the same situation as Catie and I. Even though we were all at different places in our lives, we had similar questions, fears, and general confusion. It sounds odd to say, but there was a certain sense of solidarity in that confusion; at least for me there was. I saw that several other men were just as anxious and felt just as powerless as I did. I guess that it's only been Catie and I for so long now, I've kind been sucked into a whirlpool of our life, our future, and our plans. Seeing other people go through similar situations helped keep it all in perspective.

The Crunch.

     Well, Catie and I are coming down to the wire now. We have to be out of the place we're in now by the 15th, and hopefully we'll have a place to put our child before she comes. The funny thing is that we've working around this date of the 15th, but this kid is going to come when she wants to come. She doesn't know or care about where we're going to live, when we're going to go there, or what we're going to do with all the people that are coming in to see her. So, sorry I haven't been posting, but I promise I will give you a lot more after the 15th. Also, I'm going to be making a little video where I've interviewed a bunch of fathers. I'll cut it together when I have time, but I won't have time until after the 15th.

The Running.

     I'm glad my relationship isn't built on a lie because it'd be too hard to maintain; the lie, not the relationship. Could you imagine what it'd be like if the first time I met Catie I told her I was into running? I mean I could see the appeal; it'll make her think I'm healthy, in shape (read sexy), and disciplined. When, in actuality I'm not all that healthy, my shape is round (read pseudo-sexy), and the most discipline I have is stopping when the ice cream container is still half-full. Can you imagine the first day she'd ask me out to run? I show up in really new looking kicks and shorts that just seem too short on me, and I'm all, "WHEW! Yeah! Let's run!" We'd make it about three blocks (half a block) and if my wheezing didn't give me away, the collapsing that followed would. Then, as the paramedics resuscitated me, I'd make up some lame statement about how I'm use to running in colder weather. The next time she'd ask an old high school knee injury would flair up... This would probably continue until she just stopped asking.
     I know it's a ridiculous lie and it wouldn't amount to much, but still, you get the point. The funny thing is we all do it! Yes, everyone. Not necessarily out-right full-on lies, but lies of omission or bending the truth. Actually, now that I think about it Catie and I's relationship is based on a lie! It's true. I asked her if she had seen the Lord of the Rings movie that was in theater's at the time and she said no. What I heard her say was, "Ask me out to this movie because I haven't seen it and I'll probably go because I like the movie, even if I don't like you..." So I told her I wanted to see it as well, even though I already had. Turns out we had a great time and even held hands on the first date! I just hope I remember this when my kids start stretching the truth...

The Magi.

     Read "The Gift of the Magi" with my students today. Some of the punch was lost because of the old English used in the story. When I compared the girls hair to their PS3's and his watch to an XBOX 360, it made a little more sense. Each person trading their systems to buy the other person games for their system made it a little more clear. Turns out, making the moral of this story a "little more clear" doesn't make it any easier to understand. They were so taken aback by this vision of piles of video games with no system to play them on they couldn't grasp the concept that it was the sacrifice made my each person that meant so much more than the actual gift. I tried to help them see the beauty in sacrifice and how it paralleled love. Realistically, love and sacrifice are pretty inseparable. Reminds me of the Death Cab for Cutie song, Meet Me at the Equator.

The Halloween.

     Had a lot of fun during Halloween last night. It was good times, good times. There were several little girls at the party we went to and they had the best costumes! Catie and I got to talking about what we were going to let our kid wear when they were growing up. Now here is a shot of me as dressed by my mother when I was young. That should put in context what I'm about to say. I want to allow my daughter to wear whatever she wants. If that means the princess costume she wore for Halloween is going to be worn out due to constant use, that's fine by me. If the other kids at her school make fun of her, I'll have to ask her what's more important: having friends or wearing cookey clothes. I figure it'll kind of iron itself out, right? It's hard to imagine clothes being all that important, especially when she's young. But we'll see.