Big Brother

I often wonder if my blog comes across as the boastful ramblings of a stay at home dad. It does appear that my life is great, we travel, my family smiles with every picture taken, we are never bored and each weekend holds a new adventure. But reality is different and photos are able to freeze a moment in time. Our living room is a constant mess of scatter toys and we are embarrassed of our tiny neglected bathroom that desperately needs a remodel. It's easy to compare ourselves to the Jones yet it's far more productive to focus on where we stood just 5 years ago.

Raising Ben these past two years have been undoubtedly the best years of my life. Despite that I often lack sleep and Ben occasionally throws his fits of rage, a huge percentage of my time with him are memorable. It comes down to figuring out if the cup is half empty or half full and as far as I can see, the cup is over flowing with good times. The scattered little moments of joy, laughter, cheer and humor throughout the days are a constant reminder that God has given me more than I deserve. I will admit that I was skeptical of being a dad before Ben was born but I now ask myself, "How did I ever live without him?" Then again, in a few months I will be asking myself the same question when my second kid is arrives.

I have been told before to not think about the future and the mournful days that lay ahead. Take for instance, the quiet emptiness that Ben will leave behind when he moves out. Or as Kenny Chesney puts it, "Next thing you know your better half of fifty years is there in bed and you're praying God takes you instead." But it's thoughts like these that place a different perspective on life. Yes my life is pretty good, yet simply listening to my elders reveal that, all good times must one day come to an end. Not to say that I dwell on these thoughts but instead it helps me realize that what I have before me is exceptional, rare and truly special.

Last month we acquired a good accumulation of snow. Ben was excited to play outside in the snow with his Tonka's and even insisted on pulling his dump truck. Although he sometimes wants his space, he constantly reminded me to walk right beside him down the sidewalk as he described the blanket of snow. It's little moments like these that remind me that in 4 months the best years of my life will begin. The climatic years of my life are just around the corner. Perhaps I will begin to write less on my blog in the efforts to not miss a beat of my kids growing up. Perhaps I will memorize the whole Car's movie in a few months. Who's to say? All I know is that the popcorn is popping, I've got my slippers on and my 3D glasses are handy because life is about to get epic.