Well, I've been away from work for eleven days now, and I've finally unwound enough that I feel like writing.  I'm actually writing this on my sister's laptop, because the power unit in our Acer seems to have been brutally murdered by our broken AC adapter.

But on to more important things: my daughter.  I still don't think it's sunk in all the way that I will be raising this child from infancy to adulthood, and that no one will be coming in to take over.  Parenting, even at this basic stage where creature comforts comprise the vast majority of her needs, is one of those areas where a cacophony of voices offer their opinions, warnings, and mandates.  In the middle of that, I'm trying to ask myself whether I want to be a good parent or just to be seen as a good parent by others.  If I pursue the latter, I will be like the father and son taking their donkey into town, and neither do what I should nor make anyone happy.  This, like so many things in life, requires me to realize that my limited resources are all that I have to work with, and to throw myself into what seems best to me, trusting that my prayers for wisdom are heard.

One curveball I wasn't fully expecting, even though it would have been obvious if I had considered it, is the changes I can see in the way that Shawna and I relate.  These aren't positive or negative, but introducing Evelyn creates a third dimension to the relationship, and that affects things in ways I'm pretty sure I don't understand yet.

All of that being said, I'm having a great time, and my daughter is quite possibly the most beautiful baby that ever has been or ever will be.  And yes, she does have a theme song, in case you were wondering.  It is shamelessly adopted from the Juno soundtrack.


 

This is Nick Mizer coming at you live from Brandon and Rachel's house.  Lazy Sunday indeed. We've been having a great time, went to Bloomington yesterday and walked around the Indiana University campus.  They have a PhD "minor" in mythological studies, so I'm pretty interested in the school, and turns out the campus is amazing.  Plus, hanging out with these guys has also helped to secure IU's place in my top 3 list.  The other two schools I've thought seriously about applying to so far are University of Chicago and University of Connecticut.  I need to start researching that stuff again pretty soon, so that I have some more I can apply to.

I always like hanging out with married people, not that I don't like hanging out with my single friends.   There's just a fun dynamic to spending a lot of time with another couple.  I think it really has a positive effect on all the relationships.  That's all for now.



Indiana University Campus

"A blow, expected, repeated, falling on a bruise, with no smart or shock
of surprise, only a dull and sickening  pain and the  doubt  whether another
like it could be borne "

-Brideshead Revisited