As an English teacher and writer, I never imagined I would utter phrases such as: “Are you a Mister Poopy Butt?” “Do you need a new Didy?” “Are you hungry for Nanners?”
But such is life with my son, Sean Michael, who is a bit over 6 months.
He was an unexpected blessing. I can be rather self-involved, a common malady among writers and other creative types, and never felt an urgent desire to produce children of my own. My teaching job was a related factor. When asked if I had kids, my stock reply was, “You mean other than the 130 or so in my classroom every day?” Teaching teens can be pretty draining, and after 3 p.m. I really didn’t want to see any human beings under the age of 21.
That’s changed, of course.
Sean Michael was born last November, when I was 48 years old. My siblings tease me that when I drop him off at school in years to come, his teachers will remark, “It’s so nice your grandpa drives you to school.” What can I say? I know I’ll resemble that remark.
I guess the reality of Sean Michael hit home when my wife Jules and I went for a sonogram last spring and I heard his heartbeat. I also heard something that sounded like a whale surfacing, an analogy Miss Jules did not appreciate. Nor did she warm to the doctor’s comparison of our son-to-be as a “highly efficient parasite.”
Motherhood is clearly Jules’ calling, and she says she’s never been happier. I marvel at the way she can anticipate Sean’s needs and spring into action when she hears or senses something – even while sound asleep.
We’re lucky that Sean Michael is a relatively calm baby, sleeping through the night most of the time and crying only at the expected times. He will let us know when he wants to be fed, and upon receiving the promised bottle, he makes the satisfied noises you might expect from a dehydrated man in the desert who has stumbled upon an oasis – an oasis called…Similac.
While I’ve always been athletic, I couldn’t imagine that my favorite form of exercise would be pushing a stroller around a park. I’m also fond of Sean’s weekly swim lesson, despite the singing and splashing — and a pool that contains more pee than I want to think about. Thank God for chlorine!
On weekends, I take the early shift with Sean Michael, which usually begins around 6 a.m. I love the way he stretches and smiles to greet the new morning – “What’s going to happen today?!” His toothless grin contains such joy, and brings joy to others.
Ah, Sean Michael me lad, you make the world a better place.