Madeline

And it's not gonna be easy. A two-year-old, a newborn, and two old dogs. Man... And you know, there's always that initial "What were we thinking" when you're confronted with the realization that life has changed. I would have been upset about it all if she hadn't been so cute. So small. Man, I can't wait for her to smile for the first time. I don't remember when babies start to smile. I don't remember anything.

Liam has been staying at Granny's until tomorrow. He saw his sister in the hospital and ran for the door. It's a new adventure for all of us.

A Story Of Hope

So it's a nice day, and we're walking around the neighborhood, me and the boy, and suddenly he stops, points at an American flag on a store window, and says, "Obama." And I'm thinking, Man, ain't that something.

I mean, someone, at some point--maybe it was me, I don't remember--watched TV with the boy, and when Obama was giving a speech in front of a flag, that person said, "Obama," and now the boy thinks the flag is an Obama. But beyond that, this story is a reminder of--

And I know we're all disappointed about SOMETHING, and we all would have done much better jobs as Presidents, but there's something about a two-year-old boy pointing at an American flag and saying, "Obama," that brings back the hope we had felt before the election and the change we still long for.

The End.

But not really.

Because a minute later, we're crossing the road. Walking toward us are a black kid and his mom. My boy stops, points at the black kid, and says, "Obama."

Getting Ready

Things are about to change.

We wanted Liam to have a sibling, because we couldn't imagine our lives without our own brothers and sisters. For me, at least, my sister--even when we were fighting and she was throwing plates and knives at me--was the only one I could really trust. I wouldn't say it was always an Us vs. Them in our family, but most of the time, she was the only one who's made any sense to me.

And it's still like that. Even more now, when she's not trying to kill me.

So I believe that in the long run it will be great for him to have a little sister. But, you know. Things are going to change. Everything is going to change. It's scary and exciting for me and for Honey, but for him... I mean, he's just getting to the stage where things start making sense. We were driving today, and he was pointing at stuff, saying Sign, Car, Tree... The world is becoming a place he expects to know now. It makes him happy to expect things to be a certain way and then to be proven right. And everything is going to change.

So we drove downtown. We walked around the harbor for a couple of hours. We looked at the ducks, and we chased birds, and we sat on a bench and shared a greasy cup of fries, and he suddenly got up and started spinning because someone was playing the saxophone. It was a beautiful day.

I'm just going to have to learn to let go.

It's all good.