Dear Jabbers,
I made the mistake of watching the news last night. There's a new virus that is carried by mosquitoes that can cause brain damage in newborns if the mother is bitten. Lucky for us, it's winter and there are no mosquitoes here. But it got me thinking, I have been worried about you since the day we found out that we were having you. And you've given us a few scares along the way.
About 11 weeks into her pregnancy, your Mom called me from work and she was freaking out. She was bleeding pretty bad and as I hung up the phone, I was pretty sure we had lost you. I don't think I've ever been that scared in my life. I ran into the ER and your Mom and I just sat there in the waiting room crying with each other while we waited for them to call her back. The rest of that visit was a blur. But the one thing that sticks out to me is when they did the ultrasound and we saw you for the first time on that screen. I held my breath while the doctor listened to your heartbeat. I had no idea what I was hearing, so I just sort of held my breath and hoped that the sound was normal. When the doctor said everything was good, I couldn't help but cry. While we were looking at that screen, we saw you move around and it was honestly the best feeling in the world.
So maybe that experience has made me more worried about you than I should be. I'm scared that something is going to hurt you, or make you sick, or whatever...and that there's nothing your Mom or I can do about it. Your Mom has done so much to make sure everything that she eats or drinks is safe for you. But even when she's careful, they'll put something on the news about some sort of recall on food because it carries a disease that could cause some terrible things to happen to you. It's insanely scary.
We're only about 4 weeks from your due date. So do me a favor and hurry up and come meet us. I'm probably never going to stop worrying about everything in the world that can hurt you, or make you sick, or whatever...but being able to see you will make me feel more at ease.
Love,
Dad
Friday, January 29, 2016
Tuesday, January 19, 2016
Election Year
Dear Jabbers,
2016 is an important year. Not only is it the year that you come into the world, but it's also an election year. People across the country will be deciding who we want to be our next President. It's a big deal. It's also probably the most annoying thing to happen every four years.
I hope that by the time you are old enough to vote, we are passed the whole Democrat vs. Republican thing. But, more than likely, you'll have to deal with it, too. You see, in our country, over time we've whittled all of the varying viewpoints down to two. As political parties realized that they didn't have a prayer at winning an election, they consolidated into other, stronger parties that shared most of their viewpoints. So we got it down to two: the left and the right. This means that we end up with people who are on the extreme end of each side that run for President, even though most people in the country are more in the middle. To put it another way, most people in our country love the color orange. But in our system, you aren't allowed to choose orange. You have to choose between red or yellow. Some people like a little bit darker orange, so they choose red. Some people like a little bit lighter orange, so they choose yellow. In an ideal world, all of those people would choose orange over either red or yellow. But this isn't an ideal world. And we don't get to choose orange.
Here's the secret that nobody in politics wants you to know...you don't have to agree 100% with either side. And it's perfectly fine to agree with one side on one issue, and the other side on a different issue. There is nothing wrong with saying that both sides make a good point. That goes for anything in your life. Defend your position on something if you believe it. But admitting that the other side makes a good point doesn't invalidate your position. It just means that they make a good point. We seem to have lost this thinking in our country. Part of that is because people buy into this whole two-party system too much. The politicians want you to fight with the other side and they'll do their best to drive wedges between people. It leads to people fighting over issues that don't even really matter in the grand scheme of things. You can't even have a conversation with someone without it resorting to name-calling or people getting mad.
So don't try to change someone's mind. I have been on this planet for 31 years. In that time, I have never seen a politically-driven conversation that ended with one person saying, "damn, you're right...I'm going to change my mind." Instead, it just ends in a bar fight or something. So don't bother. You can discuss different issues with people. In fact, that's good. That's how you learn and form your own opinion, by hearing a bunch of different viewpoints. But trying to change someone else's mind is a recipe for disaster.
And when you are trying to figure out what is important to you, read as much as you can about it. Find different articles, books, blogs, podcasts, or whatever and read/listen about both sides of the issue. Too many people just listen to the radio and spout off the opinions of their favorite host as their own. Actually, lately, people just get all of their information from some meme shared on Facebook. Be better than that.
Just remember, when the time comes you need to vote based on what is important to you. Figure out which issues matter the most to you and then research what candidate has those same stances. Vote for that person. Don't get hung up on the party they belong to. Keep an open mind. Vote for the best person running. Don't feel like you have to consider yourself a Democrat or a Republican. You don't. There is nothing wrong with saying that both sides are pretty damn crazy.
Love,
Dad
2016 is an important year. Not only is it the year that you come into the world, but it's also an election year. People across the country will be deciding who we want to be our next President. It's a big deal. It's also probably the most annoying thing to happen every four years.
I hope that by the time you are old enough to vote, we are passed the whole Democrat vs. Republican thing. But, more than likely, you'll have to deal with it, too. You see, in our country, over time we've whittled all of the varying viewpoints down to two. As political parties realized that they didn't have a prayer at winning an election, they consolidated into other, stronger parties that shared most of their viewpoints. So we got it down to two: the left and the right. This means that we end up with people who are on the extreme end of each side that run for President, even though most people in the country are more in the middle. To put it another way, most people in our country love the color orange. But in our system, you aren't allowed to choose orange. You have to choose between red or yellow. Some people like a little bit darker orange, so they choose red. Some people like a little bit lighter orange, so they choose yellow. In an ideal world, all of those people would choose orange over either red or yellow. But this isn't an ideal world. And we don't get to choose orange.
Here's the secret that nobody in politics wants you to know...you don't have to agree 100% with either side. And it's perfectly fine to agree with one side on one issue, and the other side on a different issue. There is nothing wrong with saying that both sides make a good point. That goes for anything in your life. Defend your position on something if you believe it. But admitting that the other side makes a good point doesn't invalidate your position. It just means that they make a good point. We seem to have lost this thinking in our country. Part of that is because people buy into this whole two-party system too much. The politicians want you to fight with the other side and they'll do their best to drive wedges between people. It leads to people fighting over issues that don't even really matter in the grand scheme of things. You can't even have a conversation with someone without it resorting to name-calling or people getting mad.
So don't try to change someone's mind. I have been on this planet for 31 years. In that time, I have never seen a politically-driven conversation that ended with one person saying, "damn, you're right...I'm going to change my mind." Instead, it just ends in a bar fight or something. So don't bother. You can discuss different issues with people. In fact, that's good. That's how you learn and form your own opinion, by hearing a bunch of different viewpoints. But trying to change someone else's mind is a recipe for disaster.
And when you are trying to figure out what is important to you, read as much as you can about it. Find different articles, books, blogs, podcasts, or whatever and read/listen about both sides of the issue. Too many people just listen to the radio and spout off the opinions of their favorite host as their own. Actually, lately, people just get all of their information from some meme shared on Facebook. Be better than that.
Just remember, when the time comes you need to vote based on what is important to you. Figure out which issues matter the most to you and then research what candidate has those same stances. Vote for that person. Don't get hung up on the party they belong to. Keep an open mind. Vote for the best person running. Don't feel like you have to consider yourself a Democrat or a Republican. You don't. There is nothing wrong with saying that both sides are pretty damn crazy.
Love,
Dad
Friday, January 8, 2016
Seven Weeks to Go!
Dear Jabbers,
We're about seven weeks from meeting you. Seven weeks! That's crazy! Seems like just yesterday your Mom and I found out about you. I'll be honest, we were both in a place where we needed some good news. And finding out that you were coming along was the best news.
We started an online pool so that our friends and family can take guesses as to when you're going to be born and things like your weight, length, hair color, and eye color. I guessed that you'll be born on 2/27 at 11:37am. I also guessed that you'd be 7lbs 3oz., 20.5in long, with red hair and hazel eyes. It's fun to think about what you're going to look like and when you'll be here. But as I sat there and made my guesses, it really got me thinking about who you are going to be and who I hope you'll be.
That's the craziest thing to me. You are going to have real thoughts and feelings. You're going to have your own ideas and dreams. You're going to be a real person.
So here's just a few things that I thought of that I hope for you:
We're about seven weeks from meeting you. Seven weeks! That's crazy! Seems like just yesterday your Mom and I found out about you. I'll be honest, we were both in a place where we needed some good news. And finding out that you were coming along was the best news.
We started an online pool so that our friends and family can take guesses as to when you're going to be born and things like your weight, length, hair color, and eye color. I guessed that you'll be born on 2/27 at 11:37am. I also guessed that you'd be 7lbs 3oz., 20.5in long, with red hair and hazel eyes. It's fun to think about what you're going to look like and when you'll be here. But as I sat there and made my guesses, it really got me thinking about who you are going to be and who I hope you'll be.
That's the craziest thing to me. You are going to have real thoughts and feelings. You're going to have your own ideas and dreams. You're going to be a real person.
So here's just a few things that I thought of that I hope for you:
- I hope that you have a great sense of humor. Your Mom and I are some of the goofiest people you will ever know. And I hope you're just like that. There is absolutely nothing wrong with being silly, goofy, and seeing the lighter side of life. Embrace that.
- I hope that you have your Mom's strength. Your Mom is the strongest person I have ever met. She has dealt with so much already, and always powers through. Pay attention to her and how she deals with adversity. You'll learn a ton and be a better person because of it.
- I hope you're optimistic. I do my best to be optimistic and try to see the positive in anything that's going on. I'm not going to lie, there are a lot of times that it is really tough to do that. Sometimes, the world just sucks and it feels like everything is against you. But if you keep that optimistic outlook, I promise you that it will help you get through those tough times easier.
- I hope that you are a good person. You're going to hear stuff throughout your life about nice guys finishing last. That's not the case. Be a good person. Care about others. It's worth it.
- I hope that when you get older, you look back on your childhood with fond memories. I'm going to do my best to make sure that happens.
My plan for this blog is to write to you as I think of things I want to tell you. Let's face it, for awhile, you won't really understand a word I'm saying. Then for a few years, you'll understand the words, but you won't really understand the meaning behind it. And for several years after that, you'll just pretend that you don't really understand anything I'm saying. I'm going to try to give you some life lessons. I'll recap some of the funny stuff you do. And I'll probably yell at you a bit, too.
But one thing I want you to remember...no matter what, I'm always going to love you.
-Dad
-Dad
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)