Life Stages

It's pretty cool to witness life unfolding before your eyes.

Just today, my wife brought home the ultrasound photos for our little baby, who is still in utero. She wasn't slated to get them until a couple of weeks from now, but due to some mild concerns, she was assigned to get them today. It would have been nice to see it all live today, but it wasn't originally scheduled, and I was on son-watching duty. It's just as well, since she was gone for literally quite a few hours, and my son wouldn't have lasted that long between various waiting rooms/areas in the hospital.

It does appear as if everything is OK, after the ultrasound was taken, so that's great news. I quickly scanned the photos from the thermal paper so that we have the images somewhere in case the originals somehow get accidentally exposed to sunlight or something. Anyhow, it is amazing to see life unfold in the womb. The ultrasound technician was unable to tell my wife whether we have a boy or a girl, and it's just as well, since I don't really want to know anyway until the baby arrives. There is just something special about not knowing - too many times in our world today, people seem to want to know everything in advance. I think there is still much to be said about the joy of not knowing something which you don't really NEED to know. I am very much a traditionalist that way. As far as we know, the baby's doing very well, and his/her big brother is waiting in eager anticipation for next March, when we will meet our new addition to our family. If you are a person who prays, we would certainly covet your prayers as we go through this time of joy, but also of anxiety (we had a miscarriage last year - you can read more about it on my other posts). However, I can report at this time that, so far, so good.

Earlier this week, our little guy started school for the first time in his life. My wife and I had the pleasure of taking him to school, and watching him line up with his classmates; the teacher even allowed us parents to hang around for 15 minutes or so after the opening bell (which appears, in recent years, to have become more of a chime rather than the traditional make-you-crap-your-pants fire station bell) in order to make sure our kids were all settled on day one of their formal educational life. Our boy was pretty nervous, but he adjusted pretty well, once class started. When it was time to pick him up, he was waiting for us, along with the other kids, and he had a big smile on his face. So far so good. He has some light homework assigned, and will continue to have daily homework for all of this year. He is attending school on a full-time basis on alternate days. Finally, I see some tangible benefits of paying taxes to the provincial government.

I haven't lost sight of the fact that these types of milestones in one's life really make one reflect on the fact that life never stops. It does seem only like yesterday that our son was handed to me by the surgeon, who said, "You are the proud father of a baby boy!" Honestly, it does only seem like yesterday when I was in that kindergarten lineup, looking back at my own Mom, who assured me that I would live to tell about the experience later. That was close to 30 years ago, but I remember it well. Thirty years from now, I will likely be retired (vocationally for sure, possibly physically - hopefully not), and my son (and possibly future son/daughter) will perhaps be the one shuffling their own little sons or daughters in a nervous lineup of first-day kindergarteners, wondering where all the time has gone.