s usual, when a bunch
of things are happening in my life, this journal is the first of them to
get sacrificed. Now I’m forced to play catch-up, which, although it is
one of my favorite condiments, is not something I’m very good at doing.
Last week was official Baby Week for the two – strike that; the three
– of us. We actually had a chance to do something that was just plain fun
– visit the zoo. We haven’t been
there since the baby panda went on exhibit, so that was our impetus for
going. We did catch a glimpse of her, after a half-hour wait in line, but
surprisingly, Hua Mei wasn’t even the cutest animal baby there.
We were surprised to see two baby giraffes – it feels funny to call
them "babies", since they were still about twice as tall as I am. There
was also a camel that was only two weeks old – he (or she, I don’t remember
which) was absolutely adorable. His legs were still so skinny, and his
hump already so large, that he staggered like a drunk whenever he walked.
He even snuggled up to the zookeeper who was in the exhibit with him, while
Mommy Camel watched patiently, ready to send the spit flying should anything
go awry.
The next day was our own baby stuff -- we went to my wife's doctor to
check up on our little one using ultrasound. I have to admit, I was
a little bit intimidated walking in there, with all the strange equipment
and nasty-looking beds and some kind of big pliers that I desperately did
not want to know what they were used for. The doctor was graet, pointing
out everything -- the heart, the spine, the feet (which were kicking while
we watched), and finally the one thing we most desperately wanted to find
out....
It's a boy!!!
Strangely, I think we both knew that all along. We're basically
decided on a boy's name, although we don't want to tell anybody yet in
case we come up with a last-minute change. But we had absolutely
no clue what to do if it was a girl. We weren't really hoping either
way, but we're still both ecstatic. I think my wife is happy just
because she can finally go out and buy baby clothes (which she promptly
did, of course).
I'm personally thrilled that it's a boy. Although I originally
was leaning a little bit towards having a Daddy's-little-girl, I now think
things may be better this way. I'll probably be more apt to relate
to a boy, seein' as how I was one. But, on the other hand, that worries
me -- that I will end up with a little boy who will be just like I was.
You see, I was a pretty messed up little kid. I think all kids
are, to some degree, but I think I was psycho. In some ways, I was
very precocious -- my mother remembers me reading books before I was three
years old -- but in others, I was just plain neurotic. As a preschooler,
I could read things like "$10.248" on "The Price Is Right", but I'd run
out of the room in fear when somebody won the game and they made all that
noise. I was deathly afraid of any book or TV show that talked about
the future of the planet Earth, or the Greenhouse Effect (which I don't
think was even known by that name back then), or the human race possibly
dying out some day -- and this lasted well into grade school. I was
a tiny kid, so I was afraid of any adult who wasn't part of my family (and
even some who were). I think these constant, irrational fears
affect me even to this day. So I'm hoping for a nice, well-rounded
child -- who may be able to teach me something about life.
