Fatherhood Friday! - Read? Who has time to Read?

Two Fatherhood Friday's in a row, how about that? I bet you all thought my promise to return was an empty one. Have no fear, I still have much to say...I missed the theme of last week's Fatherhood Friday, but that's ok but this week's theme is one I can really get behind. Books.

I am a tech guy by profession, but an English major by degree so I can really enjoy a good book once in a while. In our house, books have been a big part of the days that lead up to the birth of our daughter, as well as, the days following.

Prior to the birth of our daughter, my wife and I read Paul Reiser's Babyhood. It was a pretty amusing take on becoming a parent. It made the whole process seem fun, and funny. Now that I have a little one at home, I've come to realize that in the moment these funny stories don't seem so funny, especially when you're running on 20 minutes of sleep for the day. Still, the book made us both laugh and helped ease our anxiety leading up to the due date.

During the few weeks after our daughter was born, you know those nights when you're up every 1 1/2 to 2 hours, we had a very set routine. I would change the baby and hand her off to momma to be fed. Then I'd grab the book off the nightstand and read aloud for the next 20 or so minutes. This book was Breaking Back by professional tennis player James Blake. I can't in good conscience say the book was terrific, but it got us through those early middle of the night feedings, and we did learn some things about professional tennis that we didn't already know. We're huge tennis fans, and never miss a televised tournament so it was interesting to get a peak at what happens before some of these players hits the courts for their matches.

In Thoreau's Walden, the author took some time to go into the woods and live deliberately. Now, like Thoreau, I will also do something deliberately. No, I won't be abandoning my family to live in the woods, I've decide to take this year and read deliberately. So, all of those books I didn't give a fair shake in college are coming back, the first is Moby Dick.

I realized that with parenting it is important to have something for you. You need to hold on to a little bit of yourself otherwise you'll get lost in all the poop and drool. Sure, I don't have as much time to read as I once did, and Moby Dick is taking a lot longer than I thought, but all that time I spend NOT reading I'm spending with my family and that is even more rewarding.

I'll never stop reading, I may slow down a bit, but I'll never stop.

What day is it again?

Funny thing happened to me this past Sunday. Call it exhaustion, call it being over eager, but I could have sworn it was Father's day. It didn't help matters that my wife perpetuated this grave misunderstanding, but I really thought I was celebrating my first Father's day. Depending on your level of optimism this can be seen as a plus. I get two Father's days. My wife took me and our 1-month old little girl out to breakfast which was very nice. Hopefully, if I play my cards right I can get another breakfast this Sunday, you know, the actual Father's Day.

Thinking about this made me realize that since our daughter was born (in early May) I hardly know what day it is. I know I have to go to work 5 of the 7 days of the week, but which 5 I can't remember. Take this post for example, I think it's Wednesday...but I could be wrong. All of my days sort of blend together separated by minor excursions and brief blocks of sleep.

Oddly enough, as embarrassing as it is to say that we celebrated dad's day early and that all my days are blending together I -in no way- regret anything. My little girl has taken over our house, but each day I go home and I love her a little more. Spending time with her and my wife means more to me now than making sure I'm not late for work or we celebrate some silly holiday.

It's funny how quickly your priorities shift. One day we're sitting on the couch watching some random show on the Food Network, and the next we're changing diapers, reading kids books, singing lullabies, and taking thousands of pictures. It's all very exhausting, but all very worth it. It's much harder than I expected, I think, I can't really remember what I was expecting.

There's no point to complain about the lack of sleep or the hard work. This little girl needs us to be on our game so regardless of how we feel, we just have to 'do'. It's an amazing experience and hopefully I don't take it for granted because I know it won't last long.

Just don't ask me if I want another one yet, the jury is still out on that one!