Two years ago tonight, the best thing that ever happened to me just happened to happen to me. My son was born. I heard him before I saw him, and then they handed him to me, scream and all. I still hear the scream from time to time, but he knows something now that I don’t think he really knew then: daddy’s here.
I could go on and on about what little E has added to my life, but to put it simply, he’s my best buddy and he’s given me a purpose that I didn’t have before, to be the best dad I can possibly be and to give him the best childhood I can – way better than mine (which was no slouch for the most part). I love seeing the world through his eyes, so much less jaded and tired than my own. I’ve said it before many times, but I really mean it: I want to be more like him when I grow up. I hope I’ve been a good dad to him, and I plan to stick around for quite a while so I can keep trying to be that, and watch him grow up into a smart, friendly, compassionate man who’ll have an amazing life.
Happy birthday, buddy.
By a vast coincidence, three years ago today, I won my Avid on eBay.
This piece of kit has enabled me to earn something that could almost be mistaken for a living while I take care of the little guy and watch him grow up. It’s also helped me to get away from a job (and a lifestyle that went with it) that probably would’ve killed me by way of sheer stress by now. When I got it, it had maybe a hundred hours of use on it; in the three years since I acquired it, it’s produced nearly 30 hours worth of my own projects on DVD, quite a few hours of material for clients and other folks, and God only knows how many hours of web video that you can find elsewhere on this site. It’s paid back every cent that’s ever been poured into it, and has probably earned more than ten times that much.
For me, these are two reasons to celebrate that go hand-in hand. To me, happiness is sitting in the same room with my son, watching him playing or sitting next to him, in front of the Avid, making stuff.
September 19th is my favorite day of the year.
Baked by dad, decorated by mom, eaten by Evan!
Another reason to love September 19th: It was talk like a pirate day. Something to consider when you are lacking a theme for the next birthday party.