My sister, April, almost died two days ago. Thankfully, there is at least one truly amazing thing about almost dying and that, of course, is the word “almost.”
It was raining, she was driving on a two-lane highway, and a wide-load semi carrying one half of a prefab home swerved into her lane and ripped the [...]

Filed under: Diversions, Worst Day Ever | 12 Comments »

My job is rarely a source of stress, but this week has been an unwelcome change of pace. It has left me zero moments in which to write and for that I am surly. But to keep y’all up-to-date, here’s a roundup of the awesome holiday weekend that was.
On Friday night, Constance and I went [...]

Filed under: Daddy Things, Husband & Wife, Nola Eleanor, When I'm a Dad ... | 12 Comments »

I shouldn’t have laughed at her puke-smeared face, but that is the essential problem with babies - they somehow manage to increase the adorable quotient the more disgusting they look. Or that could just be my taste for dark humor. Regardless, I thought it would be one for the scrapbooks to have a photo that [...]

Filed under: Daddy Things, Husband & Wife, Nola Eleanor, Wrath of Baby | 8 Comments »

Right under our noses, Nola has grown to a whopping 9 pounds. When we brought her home from the hospital a mere five four weeks ago, she was 5 pounds 14 ounces. One week ago we took her to see the pediatrician for some gas issues (nothing a little prescription Zantac for infants couldn’t fix!) [...]

Filed under: Daddy Things, Nola Eleanor, When I'm a Dad ... | 23 Comments »

Orchestrating a grand plan for Mother’s Day shouldn’t have been as difficult as it turned out to be. It was Constance’s first major mom-related holiday - this was a big one, something we’d been waiting 3 years to celebrate. With my uncle’s failing health, however, we weren’t even sure where we were going to be [...]

Filed under: Daddy Things, Nola Eleanor | 5 Comments »

Following four weeks of family bonding, I am back at the office today for the first time since Nola’s birth. So far I’m having trouble making conversation with people, primarily because I spent so much of my time saying so very little to anyone who could talk back. My eyes can’t seem to focus on [...]

Filed under: Daddy Things, Nola Eleanor | 3 Comments »

Uncle Tom passed away last Friday after a lifetime spent struggling with diabetes. An infection in his heart couldn’t be fixed and 15 minutes after he arrived home in the ambulance to die in his own space, he was gone.
Diabetes isn’t what defined him, however. Tom was my mom’s brother, and he was a fantastic [...]

Filed under: Diversions | 2 Comments »

I guess there was a part of me that underestimated Constance’s strength. It’s difficult to know what a person is capable of when any possible estimation is theoretical in nature. I mean, I’ve seen her carry a heavy backpack for two miles but when it comes to pushing a child out of her vagina, I [...]

Filed under: 3rd Trimester, Doctor, Doctor, Husband & Wife, Nola Eleanor | 18 Comments »

It’s not that I’ve been too busy to update this blog or even too happy. Yes, I’ve been plenty of both to be sure and distracted by the wonderful little person who is currently strapped to my chest in a Baby Bjorn (talk about a blessing), but the real reason is that my laptop is [...]

Filed under: 3rd Trimester, Husband & Wife, Nola Eleanor | 14 Comments »