Pastimes

It's been a busy couple of weeks here, most notably with my wife having surgery this past Monday. It had been originally scheduled for December, but when her doctor had an opening she took it since she'd be in a good deal of pain. For longtime readers, you already know that my wife has Endometriosis and Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome and that she had surgery a few years ago. Well, this time was basically the same thing: to check things out and see how each condition has progressed. The only major change from her last surgery is that she does have some cysts on her ovaries, which was largely expected and why we were encouraged to have our son when we did.

So, my wife will be home for the next couple weeks and, at least for now, I'm doing most of the boy's evening care in addition to my usual stay at home dad activities. Understandably, she's been resting and taking it easy since surgery always comes with some pain. So, all in all, I'm quite sure I'm getting the better end of the deal.

As for the boy's progress, he's now walking around like a pro and has taken to it like a fish in water. His favorite pastime at the moment is to waddle over to where we're sitting and bring book to us. That doesn't mean he wants us to read it as he often just walks away, so we're not always sure what he wants exactly. He's also getting to that stage where he makes this subtle whine when he doesn't get what he wants the moment he wants it, but I imagine most kids go through that stage. Last night he found his belly button for the first time and walked around with his gut hanging out. He's also got nearly a full set of choppers which we're told is a bit early and he sure loves to flash those pearly whites!

I've gotten a few requests for recent pictures of the boy which I'll try to get up before the end of the week. I'm also doing my best to get my daily zazen routine down and to talk more about it in this blog which I will also work to do. My mind has been ablaze with various thoughts and I know some meditation would be what the Zen Master ordered, so I've promised myself I'd make the time for that. So, I'll go do those things and check back with all of you later in the week! ;)

Walking, Sitting, and Playing

It's been a busy couple weeks for me, but for very good reasons. The boy is walking! My wife and I have been spending a lot of time with him and slowly but surely he's been taking to the bi-ped lifestyle. He's got it down pretty well, only getting sidetracked when he encounters new challenges or obsticles. Yesterday we took him to see my wife's parents and he tripped on a very high rug. He gets upset and his lip gets a bit redder than normal when he falls, but he springs back anew very fast.

I've also been spending more time learning about Buddhism which I have mentioned before. I'm specifically interested in Zen which seems very "me" if that makes much sense. It's a hard concept to describe in a short form like a blog, plus the fact that I'm not sure I even "understand" it myself. The aspect I'm exploring now is awareness and exploring the different precepts that are central to Zen Buddhism. A friend sent me a book that I had actually seen on our last trip to the Cape called, Waking Up to What You Do: A Zen Practice for Meeting Every Situation With Intelligence and Compassion. It is quite literally changing the way I look at things and other people, especially in situations where I have felt scared or inadequate. Needless to say, I heartily endorse it! I've also cleared some space to do my Zen practice, but finding time in the schedule is more difficult. I have failed in my quest to find the time before, but I'm beginning to realize that what happened in the past doesn't really matter here.

And for you fantasy football fans who have been salivating for an update, I'm 2-1 with players still left in tonight's Monday Night Football game. It's not a bad record at all and I'm just pleased I'm not getting killed! I think I have a good chance to prevail for this week which would run my record to 3-1. Sorry to leave my rabid fans hanging like that, but let's just say if Donovan McNabb and Brian Westbrook have a good game I'm probably good to go. :)

Be Like Mike

Did I forget to mention in my blog how exhausting being a stay at home dad can be? Man that kid gave me a workout today! He slept late so the late morning nap was out and I had like 6 straight hours of "Yeah! Dada! Scream! Waaaa!" That wasn't in the job description when I signed up! Wait, what's that? It was? Oh, yeah, I forgot. My bad.

In reality our son is a very good boy; he's just at that stage where he wants everything and at the same time realizes he can't get to all of it by himself. So, that's where my wife and I come in to the picture. He still hasn't walked on his own, but it's not like he's afraid or anything. I think he just finds crawling more convenient. But today he noticed while I was walking him around that he could hold his hammer (don't worry...not a real one) AND walk at the SAME TIME! I think he may have that walking thing down soon. He did the same thing with the transition from rolling to crawling. He got around perfectly well, so why change? Then, one day he just did it. Just like Mike. :)

Are You Ready For Some (Fantasy) Football?

One of the realities of being a stay at home dad is some loneliness and isolation. Sure, you want to be more social and have conversations that begin with something other than, "Hey, don't touch that!" or "Oh man you smell bad!". However, opportunities to mingle with others can be far and inbetween. So, what can you do? Join an all dads fantasy football league!

Now, anyone that knows me well is aware of my paradoxical nature in that I'm definitely a geek, but I also enjoy following baseball and football. Yes, I dress my son up in baseball jerseys and logo merchandise appears here and there around the house. We even have a football shirt that happens to have my son's name on it, but that's just a coincidence and I swear it wasn't a special order! ;)

Anyway, the season is only a week old but I'm already immersed in the world of adding and dropping players, following the waiver wire, and figuring out who to start as my wideouts. If you didn't follow that it's okay since it means you are probably a normal and well adjusted person. :) Is it basically a forum for taunting your opponent and saying, "You're going to loo-oose!" Yup. Is it a way for people who use computers to appear hip and cool? Absolutely. But it has been fun and I actually won my first game! Ha!

In the end it is a nice way to spend a few minutes each day and hopefully there will be some good interaction. The football talk is great, but I really hope it leads to discussions with other dads, most of whom stay at home, about balancing life's priorities and the things we all struggle with every day. That and figuratively spiking the ball in your opponent's face and yelling, "Na na na na na!" I know it's infantile, but I have some recent experience with that kind of behavior from an actual infant. :)

Smelling the Roses

The last few weeks have been very busy and I just don't take the time I should to smell the roses. As I have learned more about Buddhism, the more I have come to appreciate the oft described "little things" in life. However, they are certainly among the most important and precious experiences of life. For as long as I can remember I have lived life hard and fast, but not only have I found it harder to do so of late, it is also becoming far less appealing than it once was.

There is simply nothing in this world that makes me as happy as my son's smile. Think about that for a second. By either causing him to be happy myself or to witness someone else do it, the awareness of such a young being is so remarkable. Ten years ago I would never have imagined such a state of contentment being possible, but it is. That isn't to say it only comes from having children since others may experience the same feeling in other ways. It's really the simple things people. No matter how cliched that phrase has become, it couldn't be more true.

As for updates, the boy is growing like a weed! If we measured him correctly, he's in the 95th percentile for weight, although he's only 19th percentile in weight. Can you say beanstalk Batman? :) I swear it was just last week that he was reaching up onto an end table to feel for things he couldn't see. Then yesterday my wife and I were remarking that the top of the end table only comes up to his chin now, making it all too easy for him to see what's there.

All this bliss I'm describing comes in the middle of resuming my schooling, my ever continuing struggle to integrate the Four Noble Truths into my life, selling stuff on eBay, doing laundry (or leaving it on the floor way too long!), not even including eating and sleeping mind you. In the past all this would have resulted in a less than calm mental state, but I've been on a pretty even keel of late. Let's just hope it lasts!