The Way I See It # 198

"You can shower a child with presents or money, but what do they really mean, compared to the most valuable gift of all-your time? Vacations and special events are nice, but so often the best moments are the spontaneous ones. Being there. Every moment you spend with your child could be the one that really matters." - Tim Russert

This morning I woke up earlier than should really be allowed by law. It was 6:30am, my alarm was screaming at me to wake up.

Usually on a Tuesday I sleep in until 7:30am, but then again this wasn't just any Tuesday. It is Catholic school a week. It was the annual parent breakfast. It was a chance to go into the school with your child, sit down with their friends, and have a crappy meal. Parents don't go there for the food. They also don't go there for the coffee. It's a time when the parents can see how their kids are transforming in front of our eyes.

For me this morning was just a break in routine. A chance to do something different and a chance to spend much needed time with my daughter. With a career path such as mine, it is easy to get engrossed in work. A volatile industry like retail is a scary place to be. The Wall St. Journal is screaming the economy is coming to a halt, Congress can't make up their mind whether to inject our economy with more money, and there are companies laying off thousands of people. Its easy to get wrapped up in work for me. If I can help my company be successful, then I get totally enthralled, because my company's success means that I will keep my job, and with the workforce flooding with more than qualified people, my company can kick under performers to the curb before you can say unemployment.

As of late work has been addicting. My location that I manage is doing very well, but as I arrived at work, after enjoying my morning at Audrey's school, I felt like I haven't been paying attention. As I saw my daughter socialize with her friends, I asked myself, where did the time go? Have I been asleep? Or was it just the realization that my daughter is becoming her own person and her need [dependence] for me is slowly eroding away?

It was when I got this cup of coffee this morning that I realized that I want to take more time for my family. I have 3 weeks of vacation this year and 1 week that rolled over from last year that I can take. I am convinced that I will use all 4 weeks of it this year.

I am not a religious person. I'm not Catholic, I'm not Presbyterian, I'm not Jewish or Muslim, but I do have a sense that there is something bigger than me at work in the world.

The quote jumped out at me today on the side of my cup. Tim Russert speaking his wisdom from the grave on the side of a coffee cup that was filled by a creation from my favorite Starbucks girl, Angel.

*fun facts about this post.
-all photos were taken with a BlackBerry.
-this blog was written entirely on a BlackBerry.

How knocking up my wife has changed my life.

I would be lying to you if I told you that my first daughter was a planned thing. Like everything else in life, it had a funny way of working itself out.

Now that I am re-married [btw if you would like to see how that went you can go to post 1, 2, 3, and 4 about the wedding] my wife and I decided that we should have a child. I say child because I'm cool with a child, but the Wife wants children. I am cool with maybe one more, if its twins then I am for sure done, but she would like more. It's a compromise in progress I guess.

Once we found out that we were expecting, on New Year's Eve, I was relieved. Not shocked. I did not see my world closing around me. I saw the world of possibilities open up. Everyone realizes when they made a right choice. Maybe not at that particular moment, but eventually we all realize our correct choices. Well I knew when my wife was walking down the isle I made the right choice and I knew that when my wife came downstairs and looked at me and said she was pregnant, my heart skipped a beat. I was so happy.

Later that night when we told her parents, my mom, my daughter, my best friend Pat, and her best friend Char at dinner. The confirmation that I had made the right choice was when I saw my mom jump out of her seat and scream really really loud. It was great because this was not the reaction I got from mom the first time around. When Audrey came over to me she was quiet. Jenn and I wanted to tell her separately, but timing was not on our side. We were worried she might be sad that she didn't know before anyone else. When she whispered in my ear her blessing, my choice was again confirmed.

It is amazing watching the pregnancy process. I am totally and utterly enthralled with this process. I have been blogging a lot more, but also reading the web on pregnancy and things like that. I used to be up on all the current trends and things like that, but it has been almost 7 years since I had to recall this kind of information, so I am giving myself a refresher course.

I love watching my wife transform into a pregnant woman, my pregnant woman. To say the least she hasn't been feeling all that great. The first tri-mester is always the hardest according to every pregnant woman I have ever known. She has been living on the soda-cracker, water diet. She must feel like she is at a Nazi death camp right now. Her energy levels have been low, but then again, that is to be expected. I think the nausea is starting to subside and the Wife will be back to her old self in no time, except that she is going to be playing the role of incubator to our fetus.

Life has certainly changed for me. I have to start to get myself in the mindset that this new child is not potty trained. I am still trying to psych myself up for that. As soon as the new child understands yes, no, wet, and cold, potty training here we come. I potty trained my daughter in one day, I will duplicate my success.

So, now that we are entering the 8 1/2 almost 9th week, the Wife is doing well. She ate a real dinner last night, however small it was, it was food and not crackers. Next appointment for the baby is on the 9th. Can't wait.