Musings of a new father

I knew I'd be a jealous father, but I didn't know how jealous until I had to share Hank with everybody on the planet.  We've had a steady stream of visitors since the day he was born.  My mother stayed on for two weeks after the birth, and she has our eternal gratitude.  My grandmother was hot on her heels and stayed for around four days, and we had a wonderful visit.  Emily's parents pop in and out more often now, and they are always welcome.  Let me tell you - I'm tired of sharing.  I suppose it's just one of those things that I will have to get used to as a father.  But I don't have to like it.

I've only been back to work for two weeks, but I already feel like he has changed just a little bit every time I get home.  I'm torn between cherishing the present and anticipating the future.  I'm ready to teach him how to shoot, but I know I'll miss being able to hold him with one hand.  The thing is, I prefer this anxiety to settling into the mundane.  The day Hank becomes routine is the day I start missing all the little things, and I don't want that to happen.  His mother might welcome a bit of routine, at least in terms of his sleeping habits.  But that's understandable.

Speaking of Emily, she's taken to her new role like a champion.  She is doing a fabulous job keeping the fort.  And let me make this perfectly clear - the role of "homemaker", or "housewife", or "domestic engineer" is not to be trivialized.  I feel like all the fancy names I just listed are ridiculous - these terms wouldn't have been coined if people didn't feel the need to condescendingly defend the responsibilities of the traditional wife.  And that's what Emily is - she is my wife, my partner, and my teammate.  The role she plays in our marriage is invaluable.  It's been tough - she's a highly educated professional, and now she's taken what our modern society views as a politically incorrect step backward.  Believe it or not, she actually got a few negative responses from people after telling them that she planned to raise our children full-time.  But the most important job anyone can do is devote maximum effort to raising children.  You can praise soldiers, teachers, policemen, and firemen all you want.  A good parent trumps them all.

Not everyone is fortunate enough to be financially able to have someone stay at home full-time.  We are grateful to God that we are.  It won't be easy - we've made a few adjustments already, and I'm sure there are more painful ones one the way, but this is important enough to us to make it work.

Anyway, here's a photo of Hank for those of you only like to look at the pictures.  As Frances McDormand said in "Raising Arizona", he's an angel straight from Heaven.