Saturday Substitute

Hello, I'm your substitute today, Señor Flood. Señora Flood has taken the morning off (she's not in labor though!).

I don't read this blog as much as I should, given the fact that Diane is carrying my offspring. But I've read it enough to know that she points out and talks about the differences between reality and perception and the different ways pregnancy is viewed.

These last couple weeks have been interesting for me, the father, as far as reaction from coworkers, family, and friends. I got a part time job a couple of months ago to help offset the future rising cost of living in June and to get me out of the house after working from home so long. This new job is at a golf course. One of the few places where a man can talk without worrying about offending anyone. My two bosses are around my age. One is single and not losing that moniker anytime soon he hopes, while the other is married but content with his two dogs. Pretty much everyone else that works there is single, or at least without children. But the club also has a volunteer program that gives the one-day-a-week volunteers free/cheap golf. Most of the volunteers are older, like my grandparents age, or at least old enough to have kids away at college. The difference between the two groups' ideas of a baby is completely opposite.

My bosses at work comment like "oh, man, I am just not ready to do that," or "glad it is you not me."  On the other hand, many of the volunteers who know are really excited for me. They tell me there is nothing better than having a baby. One of the older guys, Charles, has been asking me daily if Diane's started to go into labor yet (he was a doctor and has been calling for her to go early for like two weeks now). One said that you don't know unconditional love till you have your fist child.

This got me thinking of my friends in general. My friends that have kids see Floodling's birth as the coolest thing ever for me. I will get to experience all the cool things about having a baby. We can do all these great kid's events together. My friends without kids see this as the death of our friendship and getting to hang out. I will never again get to get drunk at their house and hang out till 2 am. I'll never get the opportunity to do the thing related to my Friday night Facebook status. They assume the joy being expressed by those who do have kids is just joy of them not being the only ones in misery.

I don't really think that this is the end of my friendship with my non-kidded friends.  I don't plan on being a homebody and not taking my boy anywhere.  I remember being dragged around with my parents when I was young to their friends' houses.  It will be good for him to get out of the house and be around other people.  I know that I have no idea what to expect though. I don't pretend to know what to expect. I'm sure I'll figure it out though and we'll all do just fine. Just don't go thinking we'll never hang out and that our lives are over. They are just getting started!