Growing Up

I thought that I had been away from the pool for a long time, until I saw how long it had been since I posted to this blog. But August 11 provided an afternoon that warranted a post.

At 3.00 pm Lindsay and I saw the 12-week ultrasound pictures of Bunivan (temporary name of our pending new family member. Forecast arrival - February 17.)

At 5.00 pm we signed a ream of paperwork at Chicago Title, concurrently taking ownership of our first house...and our first mortgage.

Marriage didn't scare me. Parenthood and home ownership did. I used to refer to a child as "a half-million dollar liability amortized over 20 years" as a way to position for a smaller family when Lindsay and I designed the future. Fortunately, mortgages are amortized over 30 years.

Did I really think of children so coldly? Of course not. I was just scared that I didn't have my life in enough order to responsibly support them. Fortunately a colleague of mine put this into perspective earlier this year:

"Do you have children?"

"Not yet. They're in the plan, but not in the forecast."

"Just don't wait for the budget."

The answer to "What happened? What changed?" is really not that interesting. Lindsay knew that I didn't really believe the FUD (fear, uncertainty & doubt) I was spreading, and we moved forward.

The scary thing is that I think that I have our life (or at least the next two years) well-planned. Though I am sure that I am missing something...and that it will make good material for future posts.

-HammerHead