Getting ready for Baby B
…Hope everyone had a wonderful Labor Day weekend! While many of you were probably enjoying one of the last summer weekends by cooking out on the grill or having fun in the sun, I was busy doing something new to me: Getting the house ready for the impending arrival of Baby Barrett.
Hard to believe, but the day I am writing this column my wife Crystal is entering her 33rd week of pregnancy. And with the October 23 due date right around the corner and with so many people predicting that she is going to deliver early, we agreed that the long Labor Day weekend would be a good time to focus on what needs done around the house before the baby comes home. And boy, did we need to get a lot done.
First, we decided to do some serious room-to-room cleaning, and then we tackled the annual ritual of the “Clothing Carousel,” where we put away our summer clothes and break out the winter threads, all while my wife yells at me to throw away the clothes that don’t fit me anymore or are literally falling apart at the seams. (I am admittedly a pack rat, and I also realize that by clinging on to my old shirts I am pathetically trying to cling onto some piece of my memories, my younger days. But as touching as that may sound, I do think it’s embarrassing to hold on to a faded, tattered KISS t-shirt from the 80’s that won’t even fit my dog.)
Then, we turned our attention to the outdoors, where we cleaned off porches, cared for the yard, cut down dead trees and branches, and brought up countless loads of firewood for the winter. (We also had to take care of a nasty-looking hornets’ nest. Actually, my father-in-law took care of it while I ran away from it shrieking like a little girl. At some point during my 22 years of marriage, I somehow inherited my wife’s fear of bees, and it drives me bonkers.)
Anyway, once we got that madness out of the way, it was time to begin reorganizing the house for the baby. That meant putting the finishing touches on the crib, setting up the changing station, checking the floors and walls for loose wires, and preparing a checklist for safety issues – putting away cleaning chemicals, baby-proofing the wall outlets, making sure the smoke and carbon monoxide detectors are working, etc.
One thing that we cannot do yet is paint the baby’s room, because we decided not to find out what we’re having until the baby is born. Or to be more precise, I wanted to find out right away but Crystal decided for the both of us that we were going to wait. That in a nutshell should tell you exactly who wears the pants in our relationship. But now that we’re in the homestretch, I admit that I’m glad we waited. After 10 long years of trying, it’s going to be a wonderful surprise when our baby is born.
(The other good news is that we finally agreed on what we are going to name our child. I think it’s rather amusing that the biggest argument we’ve had throughout the entire pregnancy has been coming up with names. We went through a million names before finally agreeing on a boy’s name and a girl’s name that we both loved. And looking back on a few of my suggestions, I’m glad my wife’s common sense prevailed. After all, it was me who initially suggested that if we had a boy around Halloween we should name him Michael Myers Barrett.)
Anyway, after a long, exhausting Labor Day weekend, we are still not finished getting the house ready for our bundle of joy. But at least the house is in much better shape.
And you know what’s funny? I think I’m in better shape too. And by that, I mean, in better shape of becoming a Dad. I have been doing a lot of soul-searching lately, and as I watch the changes my wife is going through I am also realizing that I am changing as well.
I spent quite some time over the weekend reflecting on how my life is going to completely turn upside-down in just a few weeks. Throughout most of my adulthood, I have enjoyed a fairly typical “guy’s” lifestyle, one that has consisted of occasionally going to the movies, checking out a rock concert, attending a ball game, riding roller-coasters at amusement parks, playing video games, or hanging out with my buddies, all usually on a whim’s notice, thanks to a very kind, loving and patient wife. I’ve been able to live a fairly carefree life that, admittedly, focused mostly on my interests.
And now, all that is about to be tossed out the window, as I will be undergoing the biggest change in my life – totally focusing every aspect of my life on my child, and protecting, providing for, and keeping Baby Barrett safe, being a responsible father, teaching him or her right from wrong, setting good examples, instilling values, stressing the importance of good nutrition and education, and raising him or her to the very best of my abilities.
And as the day of delivery gets closer, I am understanding more and more with each passing moment how every decision I make in my child’s life is going to be important and is going to determine the type of person he or she will become, and how much responsibility and dedication it is going to take on my part to be the best Dad I can possibly be.
Yes, it’s going to be quite a ride, bigger and better than any roller-coaster I’ve ever been on. So although I will be trading in my “carefree” days for a lifetime of fatherhood, I can honestly say that I am excited about what the future holds for me, and for my wife, and for our soon-to-be bundle of joy.
We’ll see you in just a few weeks, Baby Barrett. We can’t wait to meet you…