Je suis un père

Madeleine and Mom hiked to Delicate Arch

 Madeleine Josephine arrived on Wednesday morning.  Yesterday (or today -- my memory has blurred the last series of sunrises and sunsets... so when I refer to a specific day, I may be wrong) as I shaved, I paused for a moment to look at the boy turned dad.  And I smiled.  I'm excited to be a dad.

Every stage of my life has been good to the degree that I have faith in and obey my Father in Heaven.  The last few stages (missionness, bachelorhood, newlywedity) were thus and I expect this stage to be no different.  It's not to say that I am always happy.  But overall, I am happy.

Birth
I feel like I can now see the opposite of Thestrals.  I have a greater respect for Christy, for my mom, and for mothers in general.  I had some idea of what birth would be like, from videos and classes.  But it's different feeling your own wife squeezing your hand.  And it's a lot harder than I thought it was going to be.

Midwifery
What a great word!  Say it a few times: "midwifery, midwifery, midwifery."  Isn't it fun?  Also, the people who own the title are great.  We decided to see the midwifes of the Central Utah Women's Clinic for our labor and delivery.  What an excellent choice!  I recommend midwifes one hundred percent.  Our midwife was at Christy's side the whole time she labored at the hospital.  She encouraged her in just the right ways, and was absolutely great.  The midwives are happy to dispense with unnecessary procedures and to let mom do things her preferred way.  Most of the nurses were also exceptional.  We really couldn't have asked for a better experience.  Doctors are great when you need them.  But if you don't need them, choose a midwife!

Expensive Yellow Wedding Dresses
While staying at the hospital, I went out to our car one day and passed through a waiting room with the TV on.  A bright yellow wedding dress was showing on the screen with "$200K" written underneath.  A lady was yammering on about the dress.  I thought, "How silly."  Really, how silly.  Having just seen my daughter born, I thought, "huh, the lady talking about the dress was born once... she was a naked, scrawny baby."  Now she's yapping away about something really ridiculous.  There's so much more to life than what we get ourselves caught up doing.  I want to share a part of a letter I wrote home as a soon-to-return missionary (maybe I've shared it before):

"Everyone is busy doing things... things, things ,things.  Man has invented things so that he can do more things and so he can do some things in more comfort.  Technology has progressed, but I wonder how much mankind has progressed.  There is much of unkindness in the world.  There is much of unfairness -- I have learned this first hand several times during the past two years.  There is too much sensuality, and along with it too much complacency.  Greed is evident in any part of the world.  Men, born naked, clothe themselves in expensive suits and adorn their lives with titles, classes, clubs and cliques.  Others, likewise born naked, remain in poverty throughout."

I'm not perfect.  I chase after some "expensive, yellow wedding dresses."  (Not literally... I don't actually have any interest in yellow wedding dresses)  But I hope to maybe chase after a few less having seen a new life come into the world.  And I'm excited to help her see the difference between expensive, yellow wedding dresses, and the truly important things.

One source of happiness, and a good book

I recently watched some clips of an old British game show called Golden Balls.  At the end... well, just watch (if you keep reading, there are spoilers):

That's a lot of money!  But, in this one the jackpot was £2.85:

There's not as much money on the line, but the man still seems slightly sad that he was cheated.  Then, there's this one:

See how happy they both are?  In the first video, neither person is happy.  In fact, I feel bad watching it.  In the third, both are happy.  Perhaps it's just a "game," but the happiness or sadness is real.  Life is better when we think of others.

Lastly, on this kick, if you haven't watched any of the other videos, watch this one:

Part B of this Blog Post


I just finished Orbiting the Giant Hairball by Gordon MacKenzie.

I liked it.  It's a quick read.  I liked the typesetting, the doodles and the stories.

I really like his chapter on corporate organization, The Pyramid & The Plum Tree, in which he promotes an organization like a plum tree rather than a typical corporate pyramid.  "Upper" management is the trunk of the tree -- the stable foundation providing nutrients to the rest of the tree.  Middle management are the branches.  The creators and producers are at the top of the tree.

Chapter Nineteen, Orville Wright is spot on.

It's a quick enough read that I might run through it again with a pencil and paper.



Section 3


Our baby girl is coming soon.  How soon, we know not.  But we've been getting ready.  We have the training wheels on the bike, so she can get on that right away.  Also, I pulled out all the old math textbooks I have on hand.  We can probably get up through Trig before we have to come home from l'hopital.

It's kind of fun to have this bit of unpredictable waiting for us.  As organized as we are... it'll be a surprise and probably different than we expect.

Rex Lee

I'm pretty happy about running my first 5k this morning (the Rex Lee Run).  Christy and I have been "following" a training program for the past few months, "running" several times a week.  (Being pregnant stifles speed somewhat)

We walked the first part (the uphill part) together, then I jogged to the finish line alone.  It was fun to walk the uphill part for a few reasons: 1. I didn't have to run it, 2. everyone else was dead tired after running it, so I could easily pass them, which is strangely motivating.  As Christy put it, when you pass someone (anyone; even the lady in the cast, carrying a baby in her arms, pushing a stroller with a broken wheel) you think, "Yeah, I'm fast!"  You might be going an inch an hour, but passing someone still makes you think it.  Motivated by such, I jogged to the end without stopping!

Both water stations on the course were out of cups when I passed.  At the first, the girl cheerfully said, "Sorry, we're out of cups, but the next station is only three quarters of a mile away."  What a politically astute way of describing the 1 mile distance to the next station.

At the next station, the girl said (also cheerfully), "Sorry, we're out of cups, but you're almost at the end."  Maybe the psychology department volunteered to handle the water stations to conduct an experiment.  You could probably extend the almost-there logic to really reduce costs for a Marathon.  Place stations a mile apart staffed with apologetic people encouraging you to just jaunt on over to the next station.

Luckily it was cloudy and cool (and it's only 3 miles), but I stopped anyway to put my head under the water cooler for a mouthful.

Good day!

Stickin' it to the Man

About two years ago, I bought a lawn mower, if you remember.  Since that time, I've been paying back the money I borrowed from the bank to purchase the lawn.  The bank makes a lot of money off my desire to mow a lawn.  People should be able to earn a living, and the bank has found a niche that enables "it" to earn a living.  But they could still make a comfortable living on much less than what I give them.

I've always liked tangible metrics.  I would sometimes place MnMs on the piano, one for each song I had to practice, and eat them one at a time after doing the required work.  I have a jar I fill with marbles after accomplishing some of my goals (it's about 1/4th full now).  Christy and I had a paper chain counting down the days until marriage.

Now, there's a man living in my closet:

 We refer to him as "The Man."  Notice the stickers that adorn him.  Every time we pay down a certain amount of the principle (or principal) of the loan on the lawn and surrounded home, we stick it to the man.  It feels great.  I originally thought we could stick pins in a doll, but Christy pointed out that it wouldn't do for inquisitive children to happen upon a porous Cabbage Patch hanging in daddy's closet.




Also, we clean our house each week by reading clothes pins.

Each pin represents a job and has a numeric frequency written on it (you do the number 2s every other week.)  You clip the pins to your shirt while you work, then hang them on the line for the coming weeks (put the 3s on the line to be done in 3 weeks).  It's fun.

Belly good

People who don't live around us have been wanting to see how Christy looks now that she's several months pregnant.  So we took some pictures.  Here they are:

I think she looks great, don't you?

Them people

I heard on the radio that some people somewhere were asking for legislation to prohibit ocean liners from  sailing within a certain distance of certain Italian shores.  They want the laws because of what happened with the Costa Concordia.  I think such legislation is ridiculous.  How often have cruise liners crashed in those waters?  If such a law already existed, would it have prevented the reckless captain from making the same choice?  The captain ought to be punished; and people will learn from the experience.

I've been thinking political thoughts lately.  Sometimes, I wish I had a quiet place, like a moon base, where I could go ponder in peace.  And sometimes I wish I had a quiet place, like a moon base, to which I could send politicians.

I want to vote for a normal American: someone who has worked hard to earn their living.  I would really like to vote for someone who does not want to be a politician.  If a farmer ever ran, I think I would vote for them.  Good farmers don't do stupid things -- they just get the work done.  Ammon, I would vote for you.  I would also vote for someone who did no fundraising.  Why should you need to spend a lot of money to become elected?

I have other thoughts, but I haven't yet sorted them through in my head.

Also, sometime in May, Christy and I have an appointment to meet a little girl at the hospital and bring her home to live with us for a few years.  I expect she'll want a name.  And probably some food and clothing.  She'll likely cry sometimes, too.

I hope she can do math when she arrives.

Malaika Wangu

I married an angel.

After being dumped once by a girl, I wrote this poem:

---

Where have all the butterflies gone
    Whose wings once tickled my heart?
Why does the fire's flame now burn so low,
    Which before, from the blaze made me start?
Where is the apple at the top of the tree
    That beckoned me up to such heights?
Where are those eyes, those star-shaming eyes,
    That smiled at me those warm summer nights?

They're gone.
It's spent.
Beyond reach.
They're closed.

A soft echo's all that remains...

   And a hope -- a sure hope!

That new butterflies will come,
That a flame will arise,
That I'll find that sweet fruit in the tree,
And that this time,
    Not eyes, but a heart I will find,
Who will smile with love on me.

---

And I found her!  All the pain of dating seems laughably insignificant now.  Christy is so good, so genuine and so true.  And she's cute :)

To the discouraged daters: keep trying.

10K

Today is a great day.  Today I turn 10,000 days old.  Happy Birthday to me!

I know because of www.wolframalpha.com.

sad wizard :(

I'm testing blogger's new interface.  This is only a test.  Do NOT read this.  I repeat: this is just a test.

So sad

This wizard is sad.  Poor wizard.

There's a location option: Yukon.

I scheduled this to come online at 9:15pm tonight.

Lions

Lately we've been reading about lions and wardrobes and witches. It has been great. Most recently, we finished The Silver Chair. Here are some parts of the story I liked best.

Jill meets Aslan in his land, a high mountain overlooking Narnia. Aslan tasks Jill with finding the lost prince and tells her four signs she will use to accomplish the task. After giving her the signs and making her repeat them until she had them memorized he says:

"Stand still. In a moment I will blow. But first, remember, remember, remember the signs. Say them to yourself when you wake in the morning and when you lie down at night, and when you wake in the middle of the night. And whatever strange things may happen to you, let nothing turn your mind from following the signs. And secondly, I give you a warning. Here on the mountain I have spoken to your clearly: I will not often do so down in Narnia. Here on the mountain, the air is clear and your mind is clear; as your drop down into Narnia, the air will thicken. Take great care that it does not confuse your mind. And the signs which you have learned here will not look at all as you expect them to look, when you meet them there. That is why it is so important to know them by heart and pay no attention to appearances. Remember the signs and believe the signs. Nothing else matters." (p.560)

Taking Aslan as a figure of Jesus Christ, his words have direct meaning for us. We have distinct spiritual experiences. At those times we can see clearly and feel as though we're on mountains looking down on common life. And we may be told to do something in the future: to know the "signs" or scriptures by heart; to remind ourselves of the time we spent on the mountain. And it's true! Common life happens and the signs or scriptures seem not to fit. But they do and we should follow them.

Near the climax of Jill's and Eustace's adventure, they must decide whether or not to untie a dangerous person from the silver chair. Their reason for untying him: one of the signs Aslan gave Jill indicates that they should. Their reason for not untying him: they think he will kill them if they do.

"Do you mean you think everything will come right if we do untie him?" said Scrubb.

"I don't know about that," said Puddleglum. "You see, Aslan didn't tell Pole what would happen. He only told her what to do. That fellow will be the death of us once he's up, I shouldn't wonder. But that doesn't let us off following the sign."

That's faith! Either The Lion is right or He is wrong. If He is right, it doesn't matter what happens in the interim from following what He has commanded.