Lucky Man

I'd like to do a little bit of housekeeping before I begin this post. First of all, thank you all for the kind words in the comments these past two weeks. I have not been the best blog citizen; I am well aware. Earlier this week I tried to read and comment on at least one post from some of you, with the hopes that I would be able to stay on top of my reader once I did a big purge. It has (obviously, from most of you noticing my absence at your blogs) failed. Hopefully once I am back at work I will be able to dedicate more time to blog reading. In the meantime, I will try to post occasionally, and comment intermittently.

Also, I am working on the birth story, however to do it in as much depth as I want to will take some time. Also, since I don't want to serialize it over a few weeks (allegedly "torturing" some readers like I did with my three part story about my friend), I want to make sure most of it is ready to go when I start posting it.


A couple of years ago, my wife asked me what I wanted for my birthday. She was, as had been the case for a number of years already, doing the shopping for my mother as well as herself, and needed some ideas. After the obligatory "what every married man wants on his birthday" response, I paused and smiled. I told her that I lead a very charmed life.

I work at a job that does not (generally) put my life in any danger, pays me well enough to allow us to survive on one income, and provides me with enough scheduling flexibility to maximize my time at home. I am fortunate enough to have such simple wants that I can often meet them without much strain (financial or otherwise).

But that is nothing compared to the riches that reside inside the walls of our house. I have an amazing wife, and an equally amazing daughter. Recently, we completed our "millionaire family" by adding a son to the mix, and while he is still too new to be much of anything other than adorable and sweet and cuddly, that's good enough for me.

Since Buddy has been born, my life has only become more charmed. The sleepless nights, the deafening screaming, the older sibling tantrums are all temporary; they are the burden I must shoulder in the short term in order to earn the life I have now. Soon, Buddy will adjust into a routine, and the munchkin will adapt to the reality of being number one with another, well, number one. Until then, I still have two amazing kids, and one incredible wife.

I may not live the life some people think of as wealthy. I don't have a mansion, nor all the gadgets and a/v equipment I could want, nor the perfect car, nor many other manly "essentials". But still, I have an embarassment of riches. I am, at least today, a very wealthy man in the ways that truly matter.