I have made a vow that this blog will NOT turn into a baby shrine once the twins are born. So don’t expect daily pictures or amusing cute things that the babies did. Oh, I won’t be able to help it now and then, but by and large my blog will still be my blog. I’m way too narcissistic to dedicate a blog to something or someone else anyway! It remains to be seen if I will be able to keep up the pace of posting once they arrive (any day now), but we’ll see. Much like everything else baby-related, we won’t know until they’re home and we’re deep in it. Pregnancy is kind of funny. For Steph’s sake, often times I wish it lasted only nine weeks instead of nine months. She’s been nauseous just about the whole time, along with the discomfort of carrying two. And us men, whose approach is traditionally to “just fix it,” have to stand by and watch helplessly. Other than try to comfort with words, there’s largely nothing we can do. I don’t like that feeling of helplessness.
On the other hand, having nine months to get myself ready for this mentally has been a godsend. I made some thin references to this early on in the pregnancy, but it should be said that there were moments early on when I was pretty freaked out. When you have a kid at 23 or 25, there’s probably a little bit of blissful ignorance about what’s coming. In your mid-thirties, you’re a little more seasoned, a little more aware of the implications and that can be scary. Awfully exciting, too, but scary. But having the time to read, learn and comprehend what’s coming has been an immense help for me. I suspect those of you who are already parents will say something along the lines of “you are never ready for what’s coming,” but I feel I’ve done as thorough and as good a job as I possibly could have. It’s a pretty heavy thing when all you’ve known for 36 years will become a passing phase and you’re on the cusp of a whole new, unexpected phase. Bring it on.
That said, the nesting process has been stunning! Don’t even ask me what prompted me to clean out the basement a couple of weekends ago, then borrow my in-laws shop-vac and completely vacuum the basement as well – ceilings and all. Just don’t ask. Just know that you can eat off the floor of that basement now! Both Steph and I have been throwing away all unneeded and unwanted stuff, cleaning out closets, creating space in rooms, blah blah blah. I mean, you should have seen some of the trash volume we had out on the curb over the past weeks. My neighbor said it best one morning when he jokingly looked over and said “you having a yard sale or something?”
Hey, how about a song? One of my favorite bands of this decade has undoubtedly been Spoon. They’ll have a new album out soon, so I’ve been listening to some of my favorite old Spoon songs to get psyched up. I love this band. Try on “The Fitted Shirt,” won’t you? I love the lyrics.
Spoon, “The Fitted Shirt
[audio:fitted.mp3]
When I Was Still Growing Up
And Dad Head Off To Work
He Put Coat And Tie On
Over Fitted Shirt
Nothing Else Will Fit Right
Or Seems So Directly Applied
Than Fitted Shirt Hung On Me
Fitted Shirt Alright
I Long For The Days
They Used To Say
Ma’am And Yes Sir
For Now I’m Going To Find
Buttons For My
Dad’s Old Used Shirt
Fitted Shirt
Fitted Shirt
Been Looking So Long Now
And No One’s Seen And No One Heard
But When I Go Out Tonight
I’m Going To Put On A Fitted Shirt
One Day It’ll Take
And They’ll Start To Make
Shirts That Fit Right
Til Then I Suppose
I Still Got Dad’s Clothes
And That’s Alright
Fitted Shirt
Fitted Shirt