The countdown begins

Yee-ha!
I'm getting off work for a while. My beautiful, kind, hot, smart, lovely, generous wife has granted me a share of the Parental Leave offered here.

In about 3.5 weeks, I'll be off for about 9. Ahhhh...

Now, don't get me wrong. I know that staying home with a baby (I'm never sure what magic age means they're not infants anymore) isn't easy as pie. I know that they require a lot of attention, love, affection, interaction....etc, etc.

You've got to understand though...I work shift work. I do three "different" shifts rotating every three weeks. So...three weeks of "nights." Followed by three weeks of "days." Then finally, three weeks of "splits."

Under that schedule, you're just getting used to one shift, when you're launched into the next. It wreaks you're body. (We all know the research that links shifts in general to poorer health and earlier death.)

So for me, 9weeks of diapers and sing-alongs will be heavenly. I'll get some nice bonding time with both girls. I'll get to walk the oldest to and from school. I'll get to take the youngest for little day outings....I'm going to ROCK this time off.

It might even mean that I get back to posting on a more regular basis again. That, of course will depend on nap times.

I can hardly contain myself at the chance to get two-plus months of better rest and sunlight exposure. (Who cares if it's technically winter? I'm not locked in a dark room!)

My wife won't be a single parent for three weeks at a time! How can we go wrong?

Well, that's enough gloating for today. (Sorry. I'm just really looking forward to spending time with the girls again.)

I'll be back again to share more insights and deep talk.

J

PS- Before I forget, here's a link about eating habits that maybe you changed, but don't need to! Let's discuss it when I get back.

Thoughts from a Dad

So...
I'm a dad. I have two daughters. Aged 6mths and almost 4yrs. See how I did that? (Hint: There's two (2) things I "did" there.)

First off, I put the youngest first. This is to avoid the problem missing the second girl. If I had put them in chronological order, you would have had to read; 4yrs and 6mths. See the problem? Those two ages sort of come out as one. 41/2 Then you're asking, "Where's the second girl?" Then you have to go back and re-read to see what you missed. That's not fair.

Another "solve" for that issue is my second "did that". I'm one of those parents who stopped using months to describe my eldest at the point she hit 1year. 28mths? What's up with that. She's 2 and a quarter. Or two years and four months...None of this overloading of months.

Enough of that though, I titled this blog "Un-randomness." While what I've put in this post was done on purpose, I don't want to beat it to death either. On to the rest of my points.

My girls are great. (Most days) The eldest has started school. The youngest has started solid foods. Sometimes, though, my wife and I wonder just what were we thinking? I mean, we had wrapped up with diapers. Sleepless nights had become a thing of the past. Then we deliberately put it all back on the table.

Round two.

Don't get me wrong. We wouldn't trade it for anything. I think, though, that other parents of multiple kids know what I'm talking about. There are moments when you just look at your partner and say "Remind me why we thought this was a good idea..."

Hours, or days, later, you get the answer. On of them gives you that special smile when you come in. Or the hand you a special picture they drew. Or you get a random hug. Then, you look down, smile and give up. Nothing in life tops those moments.

I just wish, like countless others before me, that someone had a manual. Or even a user guide. I don't need full schematic, but....

Oh well. It's not like a guide would include a warranty anyway....


J