Like Zach Morris I'm going to freeze time real quick just to unload this kvetch so I can get on with the day. My life is now marked by silence. I cringe at the clank of dishes as you might a gunshot in the next room. My head spins at the clamor of a door shutting into place in the jamb. Don't get me started on a creaking door hinge: the bane of my existence. All this because Miss Ellie is sleeping. I walk on eggshells, pee sitting down, and will mute the TV if it is on. Part of the reason is to not wake Ellie; the other reason is to hear if she wakes up. Every aberrant noise is an explosion. As you may have already realized, this is mostly overreaction but I can't shake it because it's working so well. I just can't handle noise anymore.
That is all.
January 20, 2011
The art of silence
January 19, 2011
Goals
I was hoping this would be the prompt to an inspiring blog post but I'm not sure what my answers would be.
Are my goals clear? Nope. I want to be a great dad and a great husband, but I don't have any certain plans on accomplishing those things, I just know I want to be that. I want to get work done around the house and make time for my hobbies in a responsible way, but don't have any strategy for doing that.
What I have done is made myself a running "GTD" (Get Things Done) list, complete with check boxes, to hold myself responsible for accomplishing certain things. So far it's menial stuff: clean the oven (check); paint the entrance to the basement (check!); and so on. I'm thinking it should expand to greater things like find a new recipe each week, exercise for 30 minutes at least once this week, do something new with Ellie at least one day each week, surprise C with something good each week... [I'm good with the bad surprises: check out my self-inflicted mullet haircut!]
Anyway, hopefully this quote will push me to better define my goals and recognize the daily trivia in my life. Sorry I didn't reach a better resolution, but hopefully you'll be inspired, too!
January 12, 2011
January 7, 2011
No Apologies
For two days this week we had the pleasure of hosting my old college roommate, Chris, who farms in Portland when he's not visiting the Midwest on vacation. Other than a hasty late night trip to our alma mater I kept our agenda pretty basic: play with baby, feed baby, put baby to sleep. He got to live a couple days in my shoes. I made it a point to not be apologetic about it. And I'm not saying that to sound like a dick, but it's true. Oftentimes I just want to apologize when I catch myself turning a conversation topic to Ellie, or the fact that at any given dinner party, Ellie becomes the focus of attention, but I realize I don't need to do that. Chris got to see a day in my life and I think I can safely say we had a great time. I didn't go out of my way to entertain him; like any best friend, we enjoyed each other's company, and he got to have fun with Ellie. There wasn't a single hiccup in the two days we spent together. I think he appreciated the opportunity to play Uncle during his stay, though I'm pretty confident he's not so worried about having a baby anytime soon. Uncle Chris is good folk for sure. I wish we could hang out more.