Blogger Dean Esmay’s wife Rosemary is about to have a baby by c-section. Read his whole post on his thoughts as he vanishes for a few days and has others fill in for him on his weblog. A small taste:
It’s hard to describe what this feels like. Our first was born a bit over 7 years ago. That’s a long time between kids. We’re older now, calmer now. We most likely know what to expect now, and are less likely to allow ourselves to be pushed around or bullied by the doctors and nurses who run things. When he comes home we’ll be less afraid that any tiny mistake we make will mess the kid up for life.
We always told ourselves we wanted at least three. As age 40 looms closer for us both, we’re not sure that will happen. Despite the greater calm that comes with age, the normal questions still flicker through my still sometimes insecure brain: will we do as good a job? Will he be disappointed in his old man? Will we bond together as quickly as Jake and I did?
…..Still I find myself thinking: what gift would I like to give my new child? What one lesson would I like him to take away from his old man as he goes through life?
Read the rest to see what he’d tell him.
Joe Gandelman is a former fulltime journalist who freelanced in India, Spain, Bangladesh and Cypress writing for publications such as the Christian Science Monitor and Newsweek. He also did radio reports from Madrid for NPR’s All Things Considered. He has worked on two U.S. newspapers and quit the news biz in 1990 to go into entertainment. He also has written for The Week and several online publications, did a column for Cagle Cartoons Syndicate and has appeared on CNN.