Baseball: So the Tampa Bay
Basketball: Seriously! In this round of the NBA playoffs 1 team has won a game on the road. The Hawks took the Celtics to seven games because they won all of their games at home! Come on! I've railed about this before, but this is getting out of hand. Here's what I wrote in 2005:
The people who call the game, own the game. Where is my proof? How about this: Basketball. Every hoop in 10 feet high. Every court is identical. Every game is indoors. It's not like baseball where the outfields are different shapes, the infields are different materials, or some games are indoors, some are out. It is uniform. How is it possible, then, that the home team wins more than 65% of the time? The "home court advantage" is not the fans. These players are professionals! Crowd noise isn't going to throw them. It's the thing they can't ignore: the calls! The refs give the home team an advantage.Never before has there been such a burden of evidence that this is the case! I hope that the NBA takes a look at the huge discrepancy in foul shots attempted between the home and the away team during this post season. It is truly maddening!
Parenthood: Daily our little Full House astonishes us with what he knows. I think he is simply amazing. And this makes me slightly apprehensive about becoming a Daddy again. How can I love anyone as much as I love this little man? When I think back to how I felt when I was an expecting Daddy for the first time, there was no way I could have conceived of the amount of love, joy, giddiness, hilarity, and awe that my little buddy provides me with. Shouldn't I, therefore be anticipating a similar response to our little Wild Card (who, frustratingly enough, remains a Wild Card)? I'm not...
6 comments:
Don't fret the feelings. You had no idea what feelings would come over you before the little man came into your life, and you will be equally surprised by the feelings you'll have for Wild Card. But, fear not, the feelings WILL be there!
The joy of having more than one is to be able to love more, not less. In romantic love we only get one shot and it's at the expense of forsaking all others -- not so with kids -- with children you get to love them all- never worrying about not having enough love to go around or accidently loving one more than another. It's not like that. Admittedly some children present more challenges than others, but the love you feel for them is much deeper than how you feel about them at a given moment.
One word of warning... don't be surprised if you make some comparisons along the way. I recall with C. that some of my first thoughts weren't directly about him, but they were as a comparison -- he's not crying as loud as K. did, he seems to be looking around more than she did.. immediately I concluded -- he seems more contemplative than she is. Bam! He was about 20 seconds old and immediately I'm comparing him to his sister and making assumptions about his personality!
Don't beat yourself up if you find you do things like that... it's just one of those things about second kids. It's why birth order is kind of amusing.
At any rate... don't fret. The feelings WILL be there!!
L.
So...if you are a Full House with just one, what exactly are you going to be with two??? =)
I think once we know what the little one is, I might change his/her nickname to Four of a Kind. But I'm not sure yet...
P.S. Welcome Sarah. Did you stumble upon the blog? or are we aquaintences?
Hey Marc...once you're a Daddy you're always a Daddy. Your little Wild Card will change your life just like your little Full House, maybe in similar ways but likely in different and new ways. Enjoy the adventure of awaiting the arrival of your second child. There is something sweet and endearing with the second, just as there is the excitement and unexpectedness with the first. And then there are the times when your little Full House will hug and kiss his baby brother or sister and melt your heart in an instant. Our son totally takes care of our daughter and loves her like crazy, and every single time he hugs her and says I love you to her and she to him, I melt into a big teary eyed puddle of Mommy. It will never cease to amaze me the extent that love multiplies and grows with each new member of the family. :) Enjoy the journey ahead...
It is difficult to offer advice to a father expecting his second child and first little girl. I expect you have already bonded emotionally with her. You know her from all of the hours praying for your relationship. Maybe you've stayed awake at night like I did, hoping to God she looks exactly like your wife. She already has a piece of your ever-enlarging heart which is the miracle of parenthood. You see Vanessa's finerprint on Isaac and desire to raise him to have standards so high that he will only be happy with someone whose heart and life reflects her compassion, empathy for those less fortunate and willingness to serve her Savior. The same will be true for your Wild Card, except now YOU are in the spotlight. Before you speak, or move, or react you will think "am I modeling character that I want my Wild Card to be attracted to?" "Am I taking every available opportunity to reinforce a positive self image for her?" Am I looking very hard for her spiritual gifts and finding ways to build her up?" Consider the source on this one, but You may find yourself so engrossed in being someone who loves his wife and children so much that life has less and less to do with you. In giving yourslf to your family your life is being multiplied. This will make you happy. Hey, if they both like the Patriots, Red Sox and Celtics that's a bonus. (Behavior modification works well too!) As a result of childhood scripting you may carry baggage. I do. As a father of 2 "perfect" children what will bring you the most will be seeing everything you wanted to be transferred to your children. One final thought: Don't postpone joy and always take the time to enjoy the spontaneous moments of laughter, happiness and fun. From one of the only fathers of 2 perfect children to the other.
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