No License Required

Well, that was easy...

Ok, ok, ok, enough of being glib. I am excited about being a dad! I am thrilled about expanding this rapidly growing family of ours. First, there is the two of us and Samantha. Of course there is Hobie Cat. Then, two weeks ago, we brought Poly the Puppy into the house. And now, in 8 months we'll have a baby. Wow.

Yes, its true - I looked at Lisa and told her that she was pregnant. I just knew.

My former policeman-crass-cynical side says that all you need to have children is a pack of cigarettes, a six pack of Miller, eat a bag of Cheetos and live in a trailer. That combination (from my Trooper days) seemed to be the perfect recipe for fertility. Since we don't smoke, drink bad beer, or eat too much junk food, I guess I dispelled that urban legend. We don't live in a trailer either.

So there's that, and the thought that there should be a license required to have children. I know - crass. Looking at the news its hard to argue with me. Parents doing awful things to their kids, not the worst of which is simply pretending they don't exist.

Parenting is hard, tough, and for many years, a thankless job. It requires patience and emotional fortitude. It makes demands from you all the way until the end of the day - and then some more. If you are not willing to live young - it will age you. You can't escape it because you signed on for all of that when you decided to have children.

I remember that one of the reasons I fell in love with Lisa was that I knew I wanted to be a father again. Not just a dad, but a dad to her child, our child, a child we'd raise together. Parents. It was an overpowering feeling. As 40 slowly approaches, many of my friends have had their kids and they approach those middle years. I look at 40 as a great opportunity to be young at heart and crawl on the floor, make silly voices, laugh at poop, play peek-a-boo, go for a run in the jogger. At this point in life you have to be more than a little sure of what you are getting into, even though you can be sure of nothing in parenting.

I could not imagine doing any of this without Lisa. It's because of Lisa. I am lucky. I am happy. I am so, so excited! I am looking forward to this adventure with her by my side.