30 May 2006

the best photo EVER...

the best photo EVERseriously. how adorable is that?!

i haven't felt much like writing lately. haven't felt much like working out lately. haven't really felt like doing much of anything... except hanging out with the boy. we dusted off the bike trailer this weekend and spent two days exploring the parks and the pools in the neighborhood. he exhausted me and the play exhausted him (to the tune of two naps both saturday and sunday - unheard of these days), and we had a wonderful weekend. it was a beautiful kick-off to summer...

22 May 2006

exploring his way toward three...

ian_garden
i've always loved this time of year - the change of seasons from winter to summer, the extended evening daylight, the emergence of the plants from their long dormancy. but this year, the joy of the spring evening is greater. greater because of the discovery of a nearly three-year-old mind...

ian's curiosity is at a peak these days, seemingly on the same schedule as the warming of the weather and the greening of the landscape. his tricycle, which got little to no use last year, is a machine for exploring the neighborhood. his eyes scour the ground for insects, the air for flying creatures both manmade and organic. give him a ball - any ball - and the world all around is his playground...

friday evening was as perfect a time as i've had as a father. ian discovered his first grasshopper and first roly-poly in the same evening. his joy and interest and wonder were absolutely contagious. i caught myself looking toward every new experience he'll have this summer and wanting to make sure i'm there to share it all...

15 May 2006

the love of family...

ian1
my youngest brother got married this weekend. beautiful wedding, beautiful bride, an incredible amount of family pride and family love. ian was the ringbearer - and made me a very happpy daddy when he sprinted down the aisle to be in my arms. i suspect that if you asked the bride and groom, they'd say it was a perfect wedding. it certainly was from my vantage point...

this is a tough post to write, because i don't want to make a beautiful day about my own feelings. but the weekend wasn't without it's difficult moments. i had a bout of emotions during the reception, emotions that caught up with me over the course of the weekend. it was the first wedding i've attended in the last eight or ten years that i attended date-less. i stood at the altar with both of my brothers - each of whom was in my wedding and i theirs - and felt pride for them and disappointment in my lot in life. none of the expanded family asked about k or my situation, but i wondered what or if they were thinking about it. it was a celebration of a beautiful couple, and i couldn't help at times but feel out of place in a small but acute way. when i did fall into a brief self-pity episode during the reception, though, i found help climbing out from carrie, a wet-eyed dance, and reassurance from a sister who knew in her own way what i was going through. thank you, carrie. it meant more than you know...
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on a different note: happy birthday yesterday to my dear friend greenfish. it was a kick-ass birthday week, it was fun celebrating you, and it wasn't ridiculous in any way! i think i speak for the rest of the office when i say we can't wait until next year...

06 May 2006

saturday treadmill 5k...

it's been a bit since i've posted stats about a run... mainly because i used to feel proud to make it 5k, and that's become a short run (and an unusual run) for me now. but just for kicks, i ran a 5k for time this morning:

mile 1 - 7:11
mile 2 - 6:56
mile 3 - 6:49
5k total - 21:37
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on another note, i got some new bike shoes and pedals today - since the ones i've had for eight years now don't seem to get along anymore. i'm starting to feel some urgency about the boulder sprint triathlon, as it's only 5 weeks away. i still haven't booked a wetsuit, and i've never swam in one before. think i better get that taken care of soon!

02 May 2006

the miracles of childbirth and of friendship...

late last night, two of my best friends had twins. their first children. and i can't really explain the impact on my life...

i've known kathy and greg longer than i've known k. kathy started as a salaried employee at my last job about 3 weeks before i began my internship. she and i joined current office on the same day - the first two hires. we've been close friends for a long time now. in time, i've grown nearly as close to these two people as is possible for me. they were at my wedding. their dog was best friends with my first dog. they were the first people i called when i found out about k's cheating. they've been there through it all...

but today is even more special to me than all the friendship can describe. because two weeks before i found out i was going to be a father, i learned that kathy was pregnant. and less than a week after i found out about ian's conception, kathy had miscarried...

our chidren would have been weeks apart in age. they'd have grown up together - best friends by birthright. except kathy's body betrayed her. she and greg spent years and thousands of dollars trying to conceive again. all while ian grew into a healthy and happy little boy - and they always treated him like a nephew...

finally last year - in what they called the last chance - in vitro fertilization worked for my friends. and worked twice as well. and today, i met those two little healthy kids who have no idea how blessed they are with the parents they have. parents who have stood by me through every little and big thing i've been through in the last eight years. parents who got me addicted to gardening through their own prowess and who showed me what love should be between two people. and parents who - along with my family and one other very important person - have taught me the value of conviction and love and real, REAL friendship...

ian knows kathy and greg as aunt kathy and uncle greg. i only hope that i can be considered uncle chris to tommy and ginny. i can't think of much right now that could make me more proud.

i love the miracle of childbirth. i love it even more when it happens to deserving people...