Monday, July 24, 2006

Ultimate Garden Update: DAY 51

Most of you could probably care less about gardens or growing a garden in the backyard. After all, its easier to go to the store and buy a few tomatoes or peppers. Ah, but is it cheaper? No way in hell.

June 5th

Here are the pictures taken on day 51 to prove it. Keep in mind that the vegatables lie under the dense foliage.

June 29th

July 22nd

Tobacco - July 22nd

Thursday, July 20, 2006

The Colonel's Birthday

(UPDATE: SOME AT THE COLONEL'S WORK RECOGNIZED HIS BIRTHDAY...IGNORE THE REST OF THIS POST...EXCEPT THE KENNY ROGERS PART)

I was going to publish my bi-weekly garden update (complete with pictures of zucchini and tobacco) but something has come up that is far greater in importance. Allow me to explain:

The age of 32 is an important age in that you now have officially entered the "early 30s" realm. Sure, our number system dictates that 30 and 31 are in the early 30s range but there is something about 32 that says "thirty-something" and "responsibility" more than 30 or 31. Maybe its the stark realization that having kids suddenly make you oblivious to the world like you thought your parents were growing up. Suddenly, the free-wheeling days of your twenties are instaneously replaced with adult, parental duties that aren't that glamerous but infinitely more important.

Enough of my diatribe. One of our collegues in the blogging world has just turned 32. He also claims to resemble Kenny Rogers. Let's compare:


"The Colonel"


Kenny Rogers

The Colonel looks a bit uncertain whereas Kenny seems very confident and neatly groomed. Frankly, I don't see the similarities but maybe some of you do. Anyway, The Colonel is the parent of twin girls and is waiting for someone at work to recognize his special day. As cheezy as this sounds, let's give his birthday proper recognition here at "Evening with Sabs"

HAPPY BIRTHDAY COLONEL!

Tuesday, July 18, 2006

Nathan's Birthday Cake Photos


As requested by many loyal readers, here are two of the best "Nathan destroying his cake" photos. ENJOY!

Tuesday, July 11, 2006

Fatherhood: ONE YEAR RETROSPECTIVE

(Note: Pictures are in this order: BIRTH, 3 MONTHS, 6 MONTHS, 9 MONTHS, ONE YEAR)

"Me as a father. " Are you kidding me?"

More than a year ago when my wife was less than 4 weeks out from giving birth, that exact thought was going through mind countless times and faster than I could handle it.

Remember, I'm that guy who still plays baseball (hardball not softball) competitively with collegiate players, has four video game systems, 389 Star Wars Action Figures in boxes, 10,000 baseball cards and more than 500 comic books among other miscellaneous "collectibles" who never thought he'd get married much less be responsible for another human being. In summary: I'm a kid in an adult body and in some respects, doesn't want to grow up.



One full year has passed since my wonderful son Nathan has graced us with his presence and I must say that when I still think of myself as a "father", it still sounds a bit foreign. Have you ever had a little kid refer to you with by your last name, i.e. Mr. Smith or Mrs. Jones? The fatherhood concept for me even now is like being broadsided with a "Hello, Mr. Smith" when you've never been referred to by your last name before.

Growing into my role as a father has been a slow yet relaxing and comfortable process. Looking back, it wasn't always "comfortable". Those early months when a newborn is basically a poop and vomit factory were nerve-racking for this first time parent. Our son was born a month early so we were so concerned with him putting on weight. The next thing you know, he was having stomach issues which was diagnosed as "overfeeding syndrome".

"What in the hell is this? How many new 'syndromes' are there and are you making this one up?" Yes, I actually said that to the doctor.



Anyway, I was so afraid of screwing something up whether it was allowing him to suck in too much air or forgetting to change his diaper thinking that this was going to cause irreversible harm. I know, every parent goes through it. But the thought of every parent over the last ten thousand years having the same fears didn't matter. To me, I was the only one experiencing this. After all, those billions of parents before me weren't the ones holding my son feeding him milk at 2AM.

Then by month three, I had the whole feeding, changing and sleeping process down to a science and ultimately came to this conclusion: Unless you have zero patience, can't count or have very little balance, anyone can feed a baby, change a baby's diaper and rock a baby to sleep. Not to overly simplify my role but fatherhood as I defined it hadn't kicked in at that point. Caretaker might have been a better description of my role.

(Note: At the risk of being subpoenaed for plagerism in reference to my usage of the word "CARETAKER" in the previous paragraph, we here at Evening With Sabs wish to give a proper reference to "CARETAKER" in the article first seen at ColonelT at colonelt.com. See the Colonel's 4th point)

It wasn't until my son turned 6 months that his personality became a distinguishing characteristic and the term "fatherhood" became near and dear to me. Let's be honest. Babies from newborn age to about 3 or 4 months old aren't the most fun so this moment was what I was waiting for. It was at this point that I realized that my influence as a parent was making a difference. He was responding to me; he looked when he heard my voice. Talk about being blown away! The moment that my son recognized my voice and ONLY responded to me and not another person aside from my wife was as powerful as the moment he was born. I don't whether it was an involuntary reaction or what the actual neurological/psychiological term for it was but it wasn't some random fluke. HE RESPONDED TO ME. He was looking to me for guidance. Fatherhood as I always knew it to be defined had just begun. At that millisecond in time, the feeling that I was experiencing duplicated the feeling I had when my wife and I found out that we were to become parents:


PURE HAPPINESS AND ULTIMATE TERROR!

The molding of my son was beginning and I was in the driver's seat. "What if" scenerios started flashing in and out of my head faster than my left-brained mind could process. After several weeks of overload caused by my runaway mind driven by the endless permutations of what being a poor parent might yield, I made myself take a more relaxed approach to fatherhood. No longer do I dwell on the "what could happen if" scenarios. I'm just having fun and the parenting, as I see it now--will take it's course in due time.

Now at one year, my son Nathan knows what he wants and isn't afraid to tell you. He is mobile (crawling and walking a bit) and is a blast to play with! Sure he busts out the attitude if you take away the box of Cheerios at breakfast or the super-big 32 ounce cup that he thinks he can drink from but that's all a part of the journey.

Its taken this long for me to realize what my mindset needs to stay in to be the very best father I can be for my one year old. I'm sure that I will continue to reevaluate my father skills at year two, year three and so on. But as my parents and in-laws tell me, "that's the magic that is parenting".

My take on being a parent: You never stop learning, you never stop teaching and you should never stop having fun.

So back to the question.

"Me as a father. "Are you kidding me?"

Nope. And I couldn't be happier!



HAPPY BIRTHDAY NATHAN!