did I really say that?

Three months into being a dad and there are a lot of changes. Probably the most surprising (shocking?) to anyone who’s known me for a while (and also to myself) is this:

I look forward to getting up in the morning, and I’m happy when I do.

Can it be so? There used to be a rule on overnight outings when I was a youth group leader that, “You don’t talk to Jonathan until he talks to you.” Otherwise I was apt to be a bit mean during the first 90 minutes or so after waking. Over the years I’ve had people repeatedly ask this confirmed night-owl what he was going to do when he had kids. My answer was always the same: “Suffer.” It’s not true though.

First of all, about a year and a half ago I had a sleep study done and was diagnosed with mild obstructive sleep apnea and delayed sleep-phase syndrome. That’s doctor speak for, “You snore loud enough to wake the dead, so you never really get deep sleep since you’re always partially waking yourself up. So you wake up feeling like crap.” I was then put on a CPAP machine when I sleep which keeps me from snoring, allows me to sleep normally, makes my wife very happy since she can now sleep normally, and miracle of miracles, allows me to wake up feeling rested and good!

The next thing that changed is my first child. Riley has definitely not caused me to suffer. My love for him (remember the 20 ton sledgehammer of love?) is such that I look forward with anticipation to his arrival when Shelby brings him into the bedroom each morning. Morning is daddy’s time with his boy. Since I get home at around 8pm every workday I don’t get to see much of Riley at night. But I get concentrated time with him each morning, especially now that Shelby is back to work.

First, we have laying around time:

Then, when Riley is ready for his first nap of the day, I start my daily ‘get ready for work’ routine. About 45 min. or so later it’s time to iron. Riley is usually getting up from his nap at this point. This has now become play time for daddy and boy:

My personal favorite CD for playtime (Riley seems to like it too) is by They Might Be Giants – Here Come The ABC’s. My only exposure to this band was their hit song from 1990, “Birdhouse In Your Soul”, which I hated, but their kid’s music rocks. You’ve gotta love a band that can pull off, “C Is For Conifers”, a song about evergreen trees and anyone that can fit the word ‘gyroscopes’ into a rock & roll format. Riley and I dance and sing through most of the CD while I iron my clothes. I love the way he focuses on me while I sing to him or dance around while I hold his legs or hands. He also smiles and makes a lot of happy noises. It’s enough to slay me with joy.

So I feel like God has produced so many miracles in my life. The very fact that I have a wonderful wife and now a beautiful boy blows me away after all the years I longingly waited (and prayed on and on…) I used to pray that God would make me a ‘morning person’ too. Well what do you know?

Prayers are answered and the answer is “Yes!” Praise God!

Jonathan