Wed, 23 Jan 2008 4:58 UTC
Since I get off work at 6pm and have to drive through what is often an hour and a half of traffic, I usually get home after my son has gone to bed. I feel guilty about this, and I don’t like that it happens, but I’ve grown accustomed to it over the last year—so accustomed, in fact, that I’ve sort of come to expect it.
So, when I got home tonight, it was an unexpected surprise to find him still awake. This rare privilege caught me off guard, and being rather grumpy after an hour and a half of driving, I wished he was already in bed, leaving me to enjoy my dinner and quiet time to myself. But, nevertheless, I left my wife to her dinner and I got him ready for bed and then sat down with him to read, as is our custom before bedtime.
That’s when the magic began! And I’m writing about it now so that I myself do not forget it.
I realized as I read to him that, for that brief moment in time, everything for me seems to stand still, and nothing in the world matters except him. Work is gone. All projects I’m involved in dissolve. No one else is more important to me in that moment than him. He grins and laughs and chatters his baby-talk all through that time because he loves his daddy, and it’s the rare time that he gets to see me during the day.
Unfortunately, the time is all too short, and while I resented it at first because I wanted to be selfish and have “me time,” it’s a breath of fresh air and better for my sanity than any time to myself could ever be. Now, I’m looking forward to that time of day, hoping that I can knock off work just a few minutes earlier to beat the traffic home in time to read with Sean again. It’s becoming my favorite time of the day, my downtime.
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Tags: family, personal
Thu, 1 Feb 2007 22:37 UTC
Sean Quinn Ramsey was born this morning (Feb 1st) at 2:27AM. He was a big baby, weighing in at 9lbs. 7oz. and 19.7 inches long. Lizzy delivered him completely natural, without any pain killers or an epidural, but she was in labor for about 22 hours and almost had to have a caesarean section because of the length of the labor.
We’re still at the hospital, and Mom and baby are currently resting well.
More details and many pictures to follow at BenandLiz.com.
UPDATE: If you’d like to leave a comment, please do so here. My wife wants to keep track of them all in one place for scrapbook purposes. 
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Tags: baby, birth, family
Sat, 27 Jan 2007 20:53 UTC
Yesterday my grandmother passed away (my mom’s mom). She had battled cancer for many years, and underwent chemotherapy treatments for a long time. Chermotherapy is just plain evil. It’s poison that’s meant to kill cancer cells. The problem is that it doesn’t target cancer cells, so it affects your entire body. It’s very painful, and it’s hard to watch someone undergo the treatments.
Several weeks ago, the doctors decided that chemotherapy wasn’t helping, and so the decision was made to stop treatments. When this conversation occurs, the inevitable is apparent: there’s not much more time. My mom has been making frequent trips to south Georgia, and yesterday, my dad, brother, sister, and nephew made the trip down to see my grandmother. Things were not looking good for her, so we all knew it was time to visit. Unfortunately, I was unable to go. Liz’s due date is Feb 2nd, which means the baby could come at any moment, and I have to be here.
Then, yesterday evening, while close family gathered round, my grandmother passed away. My sister called me at the very moment it occurred at 9:08pm. I was grateful for that because I was able to feel a little bit like I was part of the experience, but, still, I’ve not really been able to deal with it emotionally like I know I would if I were with my family.
Now, as one member of my family passes on, so, too, another member enters the world. Our baby could be born at any minute, and the death of one family member and the birth of another makes me think about how life is a sort of cycle with the older generation passing its knowledge and lessons learned on the next, giving them the charge of this world and it’s burdens, good and bad. While my grandmother is gone, I look forward to introducing my child to his/her grandfather and to my paternal grandparents, as well. I also plan to talk to them a bit more often and let them know I love them.
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Tags: birth, cancer, death, family
