Week 11
“Wake me up, when September ends.” - Green Day
It is Saturday morning and I am perched on my comfortable patio chair, a hot cup of coffee at my side and a pregnancy book in my lap. The breeze off the lake, once refreshing, becomes decidedly unsettling. There is an eerie silence about. I half expect to look up and see Haley Joel Osment telling me he still sees dead people. Something bad is about to happen. And then I read the words; “in some cases, morning sickness can last throughout the entire 40 weeks”. Oh my. If that should be the case, please heed Green Day’s message and wake me when it’s over.
Week 10 ended on somewhat of a sour note. Tracy’s condition remains shaky, to put it mildly. We attempted to leave the house for a brief spell. We made it to Macys but once there, I spent most of my time loitering outside the woman’s restroom. Judging from some looks I received, women are a little uneasy around men who choose to hang out by their bathroom. Then, after a nearly fainting in Borders (her - not me), I knew it was time to get back home.
I also became a little depressed last week. I think I figured out part of what is scaring me. The major consensus from women is, life with kids is great and life pre-children was inconsequential and thus should be forgotten. Women adore kids like Kirstie Alley adores cheeseburgers.
At a recent work function, part of the opening ceremonies included an exercise in getting to know each other. We went around the room introducing ourselves, along with our title and other various scraps of information including our hobbies. To a man (or woman), nearly every female with child said they had no hobbies; they only enjoy sitting around staring at their child. This frightened me. I once heard a female so excited because her child ate a Cheerio. Big deal. This morning I ate a whole bowl. I even cut up my own banana and no one seemed even moderately impressed.
On the flip side, the male reaction to kids, with a few notable exceptions, has been more gloom and doom. Maybe they are just trying to scare me but then again, maybe not. My concern being, life was really good before and I hope we can once again achieve that level. But if the wife is utterly consumed with every piggy-toe wiggle, that isn’t going to leave much time for the husband. Or will I become equally enamored with such happenings and consequently won’t mind the reduction of affection we show towards each other?
But I do not want to sound all negative because I have made great strides with my attitude. It was just a rather tough week so forgive me. It has truly been two steps forward and one step back. And that is a 50% rate of progress, which I can live with. Among the positives are; I have a list of potential names, I have made mental plans for rearranging rooms, and I am wondering how small a size they sell Bruins jerseys and which player’s name to have ironed on the back.
Oh incidentally, we have a new fruit. One of the books called it the size of an apple. I am partial to the Fuji.
It is Saturday morning and I am perched on my comfortable patio chair, a hot cup of coffee at my side and a pregnancy book in my lap. The breeze off the lake, once refreshing, becomes decidedly unsettling. There is an eerie silence about. I half expect to look up and see Haley Joel Osment telling me he still sees dead people. Something bad is about to happen. And then I read the words; “in some cases, morning sickness can last throughout the entire 40 weeks”. Oh my. If that should be the case, please heed Green Day’s message and wake me when it’s over.
Week 10 ended on somewhat of a sour note. Tracy’s condition remains shaky, to put it mildly. We attempted to leave the house for a brief spell. We made it to Macys but once there, I spent most of my time loitering outside the woman’s restroom. Judging from some looks I received, women are a little uneasy around men who choose to hang out by their bathroom. Then, after a nearly fainting in Borders (her - not me), I knew it was time to get back home.
I also became a little depressed last week. I think I figured out part of what is scaring me. The major consensus from women is, life with kids is great and life pre-children was inconsequential and thus should be forgotten. Women adore kids like Kirstie Alley adores cheeseburgers.
At a recent work function, part of the opening ceremonies included an exercise in getting to know each other. We went around the room introducing ourselves, along with our title and other various scraps of information including our hobbies. To a man (or woman), nearly every female with child said they had no hobbies; they only enjoy sitting around staring at their child. This frightened me. I once heard a female so excited because her child ate a Cheerio. Big deal. This morning I ate a whole bowl. I even cut up my own banana and no one seemed even moderately impressed.
On the flip side, the male reaction to kids, with a few notable exceptions, has been more gloom and doom. Maybe they are just trying to scare me but then again, maybe not. My concern being, life was really good before and I hope we can once again achieve that level. But if the wife is utterly consumed with every piggy-toe wiggle, that isn’t going to leave much time for the husband. Or will I become equally enamored with such happenings and consequently won’t mind the reduction of affection we show towards each other?
But I do not want to sound all negative because I have made great strides with my attitude. It was just a rather tough week so forgive me. It has truly been two steps forward and one step back. And that is a 50% rate of progress, which I can live with. Among the positives are; I have a list of potential names, I have made mental plans for rearranging rooms, and I am wondering how small a size they sell Bruins jerseys and which player’s name to have ironed on the back.
Oh incidentally, we have a new fruit. One of the books called it the size of an apple. I am partial to the Fuji.
posted by Derek, Tracy & Calvin | 11:56 AM
4 Comments:
Knowing you both as well as I do - I really have no concerns regarding the attention you will give each other. As much as "mom" will love this child - she will not go overboard and forget "dad". Not to get all sappy but the love you have for each other will only grow as you look at this beautiful creature you have created together and think "we done good."
Surprisingly enough, I share somewhat the same thinking as “most men” in that I feel babies are very cute and can be adorable at times but I don’t see being more head over heels for the baby than I do my amazing husband. I mean seriously, look at the husband I have!!! I have enjoyed every single moment spent with Derek the past 8 years together and don’t plan on giving that up! I do speculate that our baby will bring us an incredible joy we have no idea even exists yet but truth be told, I am looking forward to and will make more than enough time to regain that quality time with my man.
Surprisingly, there was an Oprah show on this topic. (Don't mean to bring Oprah into your manly blog, but it applies :)). It was actually a panel of women who all had children, and only 1 had the opinion that her husband came first in her heart (much to the outrage of the rest of the women on the panel). She said as much as she loved her children, she was not IN love with them, the way she was with her husband. I think its about realizing its a different kind of love. I wish I knew Tracy better, but from what I know about you guys, you definitely won't have to worry about that! :)
I agree - it's a different kind of love .... and you will have an almost overwhelming increase in your love for Derek after the baby is born ...
Don't forget that after the kids are grown up and leave home you will be left with each other so it's very important to keep the love between the two of you alive! I'm sure you will have no trouble with that as I know you love each other deeply.
Post a Comment
<< Home