Baby Talk. What, Me Worry?

In an effort to spur my creative juices and get back to a daily writing routine, I figured it’s about time I make use of this blog I started oh, so long ago. Where do I begin? Today finds me back home in New York, after a two year stint in the Dallas area. My wife (Amy) and I moved back to the Rochester area at the end of August, and have been settling back into the East Coast lifestyle. The faster paced, more musically diverse, it-sure-does-feel-like-home, lifestyle. Of course, with the move back to the land of friends and family comes a new step in my life that I must consider…

Babies.

During our two years in Texas, it seems that most of Amy’s close friends were knocking out kids right & left. Married friends, live-in lovers….they were all busy gettin’ their family on while Amy and I continued to revel in ‘us time.’ My sister would constantly question if we were ‘making babies’ yet, to which the answer was always no. The easiest explanation as to why was our location—we weren’t thrilled with the idea of having children while living 1600 miles away from everyone we knew and trusted. Other reasoning included the fact that we just weren’t in a hurry to have kids. We married almost 3.5 years ago, and wanted to enjoy time alone together before rushing into the family thing.

Then, in July, I was informed that the organization I worked for (to which I had relocated to from the NY area 2 years prior) was closing shop at the end of September, and that we were all being laid off. Thankfully, I found a better job with the same company back in NY, so Amy and I left the Lone Star State and relocated back to Western New York. Our lives were immediately invigorated by familiar faces of friends and family who we did not have the pleasure of seeing during our time in Texas. Along with this came the visiting and meeting of all of the babies that Amy’s friends had while we were away. And I’m serious when I say it seems that the entire core group of Amy’s good friends had children in the last 2 years. Hell, even my youngest brother had a kid while we were away.

I’m afraid that Amy is dealing with the first stage of ‘Baby Fever.’ Stage one seems to include buying baby gifts for friends & family members…cooing and ogling over the adorable children. Of course, she is still happy to give the little ones back to Mommy or Daddy when the aroma from the happy green surprise in their diaper wafts up as she holds them. It’s evident to me that Amy is approaching stage two territory, by the more frequent jokes and subtle hints in regards to our baby plans now that we’re back home. I’m sure it won’t be long before she enters stage three territory, chasing me around the house with a tube of K-Y in one hand and a turkey baster in the other.

There’s a part of me that feels a sense of forced adulthood when I think about children as they might relate to my own life. Sure, I’m ready for kids, and I know Amy and I will be wonderful parents, but the thought of life changing so drastically and in so many ways is a daunting one to me. Last minute weekend plans with the guys won’t be so easy….late night movie beer-a-thons will no longer be my weekend norm…and the dirty diapers…oh, the dirty diapers.

Being that Amy and I are 30 now, we know that if we are going to start a family, then it has to be soon. We don’t want to be older parents who are out of touch & can’t relate at all to our children as they grow up. I guess that means I need to start preparing myself for the inevitable. And to practice shedding ‘happy’ tears, as to mask the terror in my eyes when I am finally told that I’m going to be a father.