Wrap it up!

Did he wear a wrap? You know, Brad Pitt wears a wrap. Maya Wrap, Hot sling, Hoochie Wrap. It seems that wraps are everywhere, and I'm not talking about food enveloped in a tortilla. I am talking about sheets you tie over your shoulder so you can hold a baby inside. They are all the rage these days among "happening" people.



Unfortunately, I am not a happening person. I have never been happening. These little papooses (or should we Latinize the Indian word and make it papoosi?) are ok. They seem fairly functional. I just can't bring myself to wear one. In the same vein, I have never been able to hug a tree, which is a prerequisite to wearing a wrap, I think.



I support my sweet wife as she tries to do what is best for the baby. If she feels that wearing a wrap and toting 'lil pup around on her hip, I'll help out as I can. Heck, I tolerate cloth diapers (although I don't change the stinky ones). I hear about innumerable studies on co-sleeping, breast feeding, attachment parenting, hemp clothing (I told her if I come home and discover that she is trying to grow her own supply of hemp, I'm walking away) and whatever else is out in the netosphere. But I don't care if Brad Pitt wears a wrap, I won't. I also won't walk around the house nude, which apparently was a problem for Brad.



And until my better half can figure them out, pray for us (but prayer is another blog). We will either master the darn things or set up a second hand hammock store.



P.S. Lest anyone think my wife is a walking ad for Nature Valley's product line, she assures me she isn't. She commits that major granola sin and throws away Al cans. (That's right, I used the periodic abbreviation for aluminum, I'm a geek and embrace my geekiness.) And though it is a small miracle, she doesn't own, and never has, a pair of Birkenstocks. She has probably owned every other brand and type of shoe, but not those. They are too ugly (my opinion, not necessarily shared by my shoe loving wife).

The little things

Anyone that knows me knows my wife recently gave birth to our little boy. I have been contemplating what I should write about this event. My wife talked a little bit about it on her blog and I don't like to duplicate. Besides, I am the daddy and I have my own thoughts.



Thought number one: I'm getting too old for this. I love the kids. They are two of the three best things that have happened to me. I was never sure I wanted kids. I wouldn't trade mine in for anything. But I'm no spring rooster. And besides, I don't know if I can watch my wife suffer on deaths gate again. (Yes, that is a little dramatic, but when you consider all the difficulties she's gone through with these two bundles of joy, you know I'm not exaggerating that much.) I love her too much to think about losing her. So maybe that is one and two.



Thought number three: Kids will change you. As I mentioned, I wasn't sure I wanted any kids. They are noisy, messy, stinky and distracting. They are now why I love to get up in the morning. You can't beat the smile on a little ones face when she is waking up, looking around and sees you. Sony should make a game that includes making a little baby smile and laugh. There is really no greater feeling.



Thought number four: I am one lucky guy. I can't say I am the luckiest guy cause my friends and I have talked about our families before out on the golf course. I know they consider themselves pretty darn lucky too. Besides, luck is a subject for an upcoming posting. But I've got one daughter whose face lights up when she hasn't seen me for a while and I walk in. I have a son who will hopefully behave similarly. And I have a wife who is better than me. So I am lucky to have all that.



Thought five: I have a great set of role models in my parents and siblings. The older I get the more I realize how hard the 'rents had it. And I certainly didn't make it any easier on them. Still, they did a darn good job raising the eight of us. My hat is off to them and my thanks out to them for the wonderful examples they set.



I think that is it for now. I have some other thoughts I'll put you to sleep with in the near future, but for now I have family on my mind. I'll leave you with a picture of the new one. Be good to your families. They, more than anything, are worth getting right. (There is no first time, there is only one time, so work hard and get it right more often than not.)