SofiandNatalie.com

The guys who fear becoming fathers don’t understand that fathering is not something perfect men do, but something that perfects the man.  The end product of child raising is not the child but the parent.  ~Frank Pittman, Man Enough

Summer is over; we’re coming into fall.  It’s easy to see everywhere you look.  The weather is changing; stores are putting out their holiday wares and advertising is making the inevitble swing to push us to shop. For me though, it’s all a reminder that another year is nearly over, and my children are getting older.  Every day when I leave in the morning I wonder what will have changed between the morning and when I get home, and every day I’m amazed by how much it seems I’ve missed.  My babies are growig up, learning, and perhaps what I fear most, yearning for their independence (all while still wanting a hug and a kiss.)

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I’m sorry to everyone that’s taking time to read this, because I know that it’s taken more time then I promised.  Unfortunately, it’s just been a struggle to get my restored copy of wordpress back up and working the way that I want.  I think that I have overcome this problem now so hopefully we’re back and I’ll become a posting fiend again!

Keep checking back - there’s much more to come!

Papa

It’s been so long since I last contributed anything to the blog, I’ve almost forgotten how, but after a very, very long break I’m back to contribute on a much more regular basis. For those that don’t know, we’ve been out ill for pretty much the whole of two months – mama and the girls both had the stomach flu, followed by colds, and then Sofi and Natalie both contracted pneumonia. So basically we’ve had two months of battling fevers, enjoying the Good Samaritan Hospital Emergency Room and everything that goes along with being sick. At the same time, I scratched my cornea to the point where I was only able to see out of one eye – we were just loads of fun.

But, I’m knocking on wood now – we’re all well and definitely ready for summer. Mama is off this year and the girls have been enjoying every day. I’m very happy that they get to play and have fun all summer – even though I’m also a little jealous. But that’s okay – knowing they’re happy will be enough for me. So let the posting begin…

Papa

When I decided to create this blog, it began as a labor of love.  It was a way for me to put down into words the love and happiness that my children had brought into my life, and a way for me to “give” them their history so that later on they could know how their actions had impacted my life and opened my eyes to a happiness and joy that could be neither bought nor stolen.  If, at some point, I happened to make them laugh or cringe in embarassment later in life, all the better.  Realizing this, I always think that there is something more that I can give, something else that I can share, or some way that I can be better for my children.  And of course, when I think these thoughts, I am reminded of Diane Looman’s poem:

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“Why’s the kitchen shaking, Papa??”

Of course, by the time Sofi got that thought into and out of her head she was in my arms in the guest bedroom door-frame and Natalie was in Mama’s arms in our bathroom door-frame, and just like that both girls survived their first earthquake - no worse for wear.

According to the USGS:

A moderate earthquake occurred at 8:04:54 PM (PDT) on Tuesday, October 30, 2007.
The magnitude 5.6 event occurred 8 km (5 miles) NNE of Alum Rock, CA.
The hypocentral depth is 9 km ( 6 miles).

From our perspective, it felt to me as though the house was rolling a little bit, but it was over pretty quickly.  I’d say from start to finish less than five seconds, but the aftershock (our excitement at the event) in our house was much longer than that.  The girls weren’t afraid so much as reacting to our reaction, which was of concern, perhaps a little fear, and to some extent excitement as well.  Fortunately, at the end of the day, everyone is fine.  The house is fine.  We’re no worse for wear.  A Charlie Brown’s Halloween Special is on the television and there’s special popcorn.  Would be interested to know who else felt the earthquake; post in the comments and let us know your thoughts.

Papa

I went to Fry’s Electronics tonight with my daughters.  It’s Gina’s night out and I figured this would be a good bonding experience for us.  As always, I needed a couple of things anyway and, I thought, how bad could it be?  Ha.  What the heck was I thinking?

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“Each friend represents a world in us, a world possibly not born until they arrive, and it is only by this meeting that a new world is born.”
- Anais Nin

I realize now, more than ever, that the people around us make us who we are. The friends, and even the enemies, create our personality – good or bad – and make us who we are. The same is true with children. I can watch my children and watch their interaction with others and know that they realize friendship is good – and sometimes painful – and it makes them happy. When they are happy, I am happy, and the world is wonderful. Fortunately, children are never truly unhappy – which means that the world is always a pretty wonderful place.

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