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That’s Great, Yeah!

Hi! Mike, here. So Eva’s been doing all sorts of cool/cute/extraordinarily intelligent things lately, like eating a giant gob of gooey rice cereal without letting it drool out her lips and down her adorable chin. Brilliant! The books say to provide lots of positive reinforcement when she does something like that. That’s why you can walk into our house on any given day and see me daintily clapping my otherwise masculine hands and cheering, “Yeah! That’s great, baby, yeah!”

Over and over.

Well, a few weeks ago, I was helping my new employer set up a booth for a local business convention. The convention’s (cheesy) theme was “rock n’ roll.” That’s why, after lugging 50-pound speaker amps out of a tour van plastered with band stickers, I noticed our freshly printed promotional material and briskly clapped my hands in front of my face, saying, “Yeah! That’s great!”

I’m like one of Pavlov’s dogs, but instead of hearing a bell, I see cool stuff, and instead of drooling, I clap my hands and say, “Yeah!” After quickly explaining my  odd enthusiasm to my boss, I continued lifting big, heavy, manly things and grunting in a deep, manly voice.

Eva's New Highchair...

"Look," he says, "there's a cup holder for my beer!"
...and Daddy finds himself permanently relieved of feeding duty.

A Special Message from Eva

Well, we survived a trip to Michigan and back. Eva (naturally) was an angel for all 20 hours of our round trip. And I am here to tell you that you ain't lived until you've spoonfed rice cereal in the dark with your left hand to your rear-facing-carseat-sitting baby while speeding down the interstate at 70 mph having just come through an hour and a half of bumper to bumper rush hour traffic in Chicago.

You just ain't lived.

Some Sad News

I’ve been saying this a lot lately, but I truly do apologize for the lack of posts in the past month. I am hoping that once we get through the holiday season I’ll be able to post with some regularity again. Please, please bear with me. Don’t leave!

We had a sad Thanksgiving this year…just as we were sitting down to enjoy our holiday dinner, the phone rang. Mike’s mom was calling to deliver some tragic news: his Grandpa Paulus had suffered a heart attack and passed away. Needless to say, our holiday plans changed drastically, but, if there is to be a silver lining, we did spend the weekend surrounded by family and friends, celebrating a wonderful man and an incredible life.

I only knew him as a gentle man who doted on his children, grandchildren, and five (five!) great-granddaughters, who enjoyed hunting and the outdoors, and dabbled a bit with woodworking. But this past weekend I heard enough stories to fill three lifetimes—each more entertaining and heartwarming than the last. I told Mike that it seemed like his grandpa had lived about 200 years—I couldn’t believe all the experiences (and careers!) he’d had.  He was a man who lived passionately, and loved the same way. Everyone knew who he was in the small town where he spent most of his life, and it seemed like most of that town showed up to pay their respects to him. Mike’s grandpa was incredibly proud of his family, and I’m proud to be a part of it.

I’m sure he’s already the most popular guy in heaven!

Unfortunately, our sad news doesn’t end there. Yesterday, one of my aunts passed away. She had a brief, intense battle with cancer, and, unfortunately for us, the cancer won. I didn’t know her long—only seven years or so—but it was long enough to know she was a special person. She was someone who you just wanted to be near, because she made you feel good about yourself. She and my uncle made their home about 12 hours away from us, so I didn’t see her often—only a couple times a year. I was a guest at their home only once, but I remember it vividly because she made me feel so comfortable there.

I’m sad that I won’t get to know her better, and that she never had a chance to meet Eva, but I’m glad she doesn’t have to suffer anymore. She will be truly, truly missed.

I hope you all had wonderful holidays with your families and friends, and I wish you all good health and much happiness as we head into the Christmas season. Our time here is so short…please remember what is important.