guest post: becoming a father

By: Allen, guest columnist

Amy asked me to write her first guest blog, so after a few weeks of procrastination, I’ve finally had a chance to sit down to come up with some thoughts.  Coming up with a topic was much harder than I thought when she approached me several month ago with the idea of becoming a guest columnist.  I’ve enjoyed reading all of her previous blogs as she’s had some interesting observations on parenthood, so I thought I'd share mine.

For me, life has changed – but not to the extent of hers.  I still go to work each day and when Kaellyn was small (i.e. non-mobile), I did feel that things were different, but not that much different than in the past.  Now don’t get me wrong, life will never be like it used to be.  I mean, I gave up several softball teams... not to mention there are the sleep deprived nights.  This is in addition to no longer going out for happy hours or other spontaneous events!  Now, everything must be planned and discussed with “committee” in advance.  But getting back to my previous point, life has not changed as much for me as it has for Amy.  I mean, for her, every day is like Bill Murray in Groundhog Day.  Her only break is when I come home in the evenings or when her folks come by to watch Kaellyn for several hours.  Otherwise, that baby is attached to her.

Besides the presence of my sweet daughter that I love dearly, the biggest change for me has been responsibility.  The focus in no longer just on either Amy or myself, it’s now about Kaellyn and the family.  For example, we just purchased our new home in Ashburn.  It was a tough sell to convince me to move outside the Beltway.  I love living in Arlington and being close to my friends here in the city.  But what we want is more affordable out there, the schools are better, and it’s apparently more family oriented.  I guess we'll find out for ourselves soon enough. I’ve kicked the cigars (or at least maybe once a month as a treat) and alcohol consumption has dropped dramatically.  I’ve almost tripled the life insurance policy and I've also started a college fund, thanks to the money my Mom gave me from the sale of my Grandmother’s home.

So while day-to-day activities may not have changed as much for me, I’m beginning to look at life from more of a "big picture" perspective as I try to insert more “responsibility” into my and my family's lives.

Feedback? Please leave a comment! And stay tuned for my next column... "Sports, Baby".

The views expressed are those of the author and are not necessarily those of blue-haired blonde.