This week’s newsletter was written mostly while camping and the rest on the back of a bus on my way to a meeting I’m always late for.
Musings
I checked out Shrek! by William Steig at the library for bedtime. It was not age appropriate.
Filed under “Men who Fail Upwards” - Bay Area’s Durek Verrett who sold medallions claiming to cure Covid-19 is marrying the Princess of Norway this week.
I asked Reddit what the best way to fix a Room and Board bathroom cabinet is and instead ended up helping people find and buy my exact bathroom cabinet.
Looking Back on 2
Sondra and I are not planners. We are “let’s give it a try and if it doesn’t work out, no worries” kind of people. It’s how we navigated a long distance relationship, multiple cross country moves, buying a home together, and getting married. We naively attacked having a child the same way only to quickly realize worries is all but guaranteed.
“No worries” transitioned to a feeling of full on panic over a year before Oliver was born and lasted throughout his first year.
When we first couldn’t conceive, I talked to my primary care provider about it. He suggested I pickup running as he heard it provided positive results to other people in my situation. I now have a new primary care doctor.
Eventually, when we finally were able to conceive, we found ourselves buried in brochures about chromosomes at home far from the originally planned vacation to Mexico avoiding alcohol and poke because what if? We laid in bed at night silently wondering what type of people we really were before we found ourselves talking about decisions no one standing outside of Planned Parenthood everyday wants you to be pondering.
And when our booger was born in August, our calendars quickly filled with appointments. We sat in waiting rooms with our oversized stroller to see neurologists, physical therapists, allergists, lab techs, lactation consultants, and pediatrician throughout that first year. I was exhausted.
If year one was the Fellowship of the Ring, then year two was definitely The Two Towers - better in almost every way. This past year has had so much less unnecessary traveling and ‘what-ifs.’ Instead, it’s been filled with wonder, growth, and character development. Oliver’s no longer just this delicate blob we carry around. He’s become this little human who loves running up any number of stairs before hopping from one pillow fort to the next. He has opinions about where things should go and what activity we should all be doing.
This second year has been such a joy compared to the year before. It felt like after deciding to have a kid, almost every moment was full of worry. The worrying hasn’t entirely gone away but there’s definitely a sense of adventure that’s only just started this past year. I cannot wait to see how this next year unfolds and what kind of sequel it becomes.
Things I Want to Know from You
For Next Week
We talk about minivans, vans, sedans, trains, bicycles, and helmets.
Why do you think the car buying experience is so terrible? And what power do any of us have to not feel like a chump?
From Last Week
There are two camps of potty training readers - those who wait for Pre-Ks to have it as a requirement before enrollment and those who can’t wait to get their kids out of diapers.
And for those who are fiber conscious, high fiber cereal and well massaged kale salads seem to be the only tools in our belt.