(sitting in the OB’s office; 38 weeks, 3 days into pregnancy)
Wife: How’s the baby measuring?
Doctor: Great! His heartbeat is good. Weight is good. He feels like he is in a birthing position, head down, feet up.
Doctor: (with an excited smile on her face) You’re ready. With everything I’m seeing, I wouldn’t be surprised if you had this baby tonight.
Me: (turning a ghostly shade of white and staring blankly into the distance)
Doctor: (snapping her fingers in front of my face) Hey…are you alright? Are you breathing?
Okay. Okay. So if you reviewed the game tape, I’m sure the conversation didn’t happen exactly like that…but man, that is exactly how it felt…raw, unexpected panic. 40 weeks! Doc, you told me 40 weeks. I have another week and a half to plan for this moment. Now, you’re telling me it could all go down tonight?!? Where did the time go? Am I even ready?
And so begins the seemingly endless line of self-questioning: Who do I call first? Who will watch our daughter? Who will feed the dog? Where are the “Go” bags? When do we head to the hospital? Where do I park? What entrance do we go in? What if there is a snowstorm? Ahhhhhhhhhhh!!!
I’m thankful for the heavy-handed dose of reality delivered by the doctor, even if it was unintentional. It was the reality check I needed. Having had the last 24 hours to anxiously think and talk through the process and tackle some of the ‘what if’ scenarios, I feel better. More relaxed. More in control. Better prepared.
With that said, here are the stories that caught my eye this week:
MONEY: Raising a Kid Costs How Much? Ways to Whittle Down the Costs of Parenthood (The Simple Dollar)
“The costs to raise a child to the age of 18 have surged to a staggering $233,610.” Anyone else starting to feel a little sick after reading that? No…just me, the very-soon-to-be father of two kids??? All kidding aside…the article points out some great cost-saving tips, some obvious and some not-so-obvious, for parents to consider. In my opinion, it’s a must-read for any first-time parent.
LIFE: What is the Perfect Age? (Wall Street Journal)
Great job to whoever wrote this headline because it totally sucked me in. Are your best years ahead of you or behind you? That’s what we really want to know, right? Spoiler alert: the answer is both. The article takes both a scientific and social angle in evaluating what the “best” age is for various physical activities and qualities of life. Some will make you say, “well, duh!” and others, “hmmm, that’s not what I expected”.
KENTUCKY PENSIONS: Kentucky’s budget puzzle is missing a huge piece: pension reform (The Courier-Journal)
On Tuesday, Governor Bevin revealed his proposed state budget for the next two fiscal years, and as expected, it was full of budget cutting measures. Unfortunately, the budget didn’t provide much insight into what future pension reform will look like. What it did tell us, however, is that the budget will “fully fund pension plans under current law — about $3.3 billion in state General Fund money over the next two years”.
JUST BECAUSE: When it’s 5 a.m. at an Irish Wedding – Ho, Ro, the Rattlin’ Bog (VIDEO)
This video has no relevance to anything else in this email…but…I…cannot…stop…watching…it! Simply impressive and amazing! I challenge you to watch it without smiling and tapping your foot along to the rhythm.