Father's Day and Birthday

Because 2008 was such a hectic year (new baby, new house, new job, new degree), the only thing I wanted to do in 2009 was to focus on my family and my new house. I decided not to stress about anything else. No planning, no nothing. If someone wanted to do something, that was fine, but I just didn't want to be involved in any planning. However, last week my 30th birthday fell on the same day as my first Father's day. Big milestones, so I managed to invite my friends and family to go out for some drinks the night before.

Sandra's mom watched Markus for the night and Sandra and I booked a room at the Waldorf Astora for the night (we're soooooooooo fancy). The Waldorf actually worked out well because we booked a regular room, but when we go there they gave us a smoking room. We complained and they upgraded us to a mini-suite. NICE! Anyway, dinner and drinks were at Ovelia, a greek restaurant in Astoria which is co-owned by one of my good friends. The evening was a great success. A lot of friends came out and it was nice to see everyone. We even got to see pictures of one of my friends' newborn son, Lucas, and we found out that our other friends are expecting their first! Great, great news.

On my first father's day, I just recognized how lucky I am to have such a wonderful wife and mother of our son, and to have such an incredible little guy in my life. I also recognize the importance of my entire family, and how rare and lucky we are to have such great relationships. It's been such a joy raising Markus and I can't say enough about Sandra being a mom.

We had decided that Sandra would stop working to stay and raise Markus, and that has been the most surprising aspect so far in that I didn't really understand the dynamics of that decision. It's invaluable to have Sandra at home with Markus, and we knew that, but it's also difficult to be with him all day. I never appreciated just how difficult that would be. And while it's great for me to work, well, not work per se, but to get out of the house each day, it's tough not to be with Markus during that time. It'd be great if we could alternate! I love when I come home and Markus gets so excited. I play with him for about and hour, give him a bottle, and put him to sleep. It's so very special. I really look forward to weekends so I can play with him more.

Well, what can I say? I have no words to describe just how I feel about Markus. I love being a father. It really is a different world that I live in now. My thoughts and feelings are so different than before. One small, but powerful moment came a few weeks ago when we were visiting my parents. Markus was sitting down and I was standing next to my dad. I looked at Markus and said, "look, this is my dad, just like I am your dad". It was just a second, but it was one of those "wow" moments. Hard to explain, but very surreal, very spritual.

Well, Happy belated Father's day to everyone! I'm excited to see what the next year of fatherhood will unveil.