And it begins…

My dad’s birthday was this past Monday. We originally decided that we were going to tell my parents face-to-face this weekend. Since we weren’t going to be able to see Elise’s parents’ faces when we told them, we thought it would be a fun surprise to tell Steve and Joanne the news on Steve’s birthday this past Tuesday over the phone.

So my mom and dad were the second to hear the news. I wanted the news to be a surprise for my parents but was having a hard time figuring out how to break it to them. See, my parents are already grandparents – I have four older siblings, three of which already have kids, so being grandparents isn’t anything new to my parents.

I went to Wal-Mart today and bought a bag of diapers. I don’t know the brand or size – I just picked up the thing of diapers that had the “1″ printed on them. I know “1″ from previous diaper buying experiences for Jack.

Picking up a bag of diapers for my own child suddenly turned me into Fatherly Manly Man. It was honestly quite weird and invigorating. My chest expanded, I could breathe clearly and I walked in a rhythmic and determined strut. I was proud. Prouder than I’ve ever been. I felt like Godzilla – Like I could crush anything in my path as I had now become an indestructable protector.

So Godzilla Father walked to the check out line with a bag of diapers and a pack of watermelon bubble gum.

Before heading out to my parents’ house I boxed and gift wrapped the bag of diapers. We got to my parents’ house at 7:30, said our hellos and went to Crossroads for catfish. Dinner was great. We sat next to a couple and talked about the weather, cattle, shooting people, horses, etc. etc.

We went back to the house and I presented dad with his belated birthday present. He carefully unwrapped the wrapping paper and genly opened the taped box. He pulled out the bag of diapers and chuckled slightly. I think he was trying to come up with something witty to say and I chimed in and asked how my dad and mom felt about about being grandparents again. Mom grinned her big grin and said, “You’re pregnant?!?!?” Elise took over and told them about the pregnancy tests, that we have our first doctor’s appointment on September 1st and everything else girls talk about when their pregnant.

So my parents are excited. We’re more excited now that both sets of parents know. I’m really excited because I look at my wife now and know that we have a part of both of us growing inside of her and grandparents that are going to play such an important role in our child’s life.

I’m really excited about our first visit to the doctor. I know Elise and the baby will do fine and am anxious to ask questions, gain knowledge and eventually let family and friends in on the news.

This entry was posted on Friday, August 19th, 2005 at 10:51 pm and is filed under News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.