There's always formula to buy...always a diaper to change...always a little one that needs attention...

There's never enough money...never enough sleep...never a minute that you're not on call...

Sometimes, it seems like raising a son in Vermont (or anywhere) is just an unwelcome hassle. There's always something that needs to be done - preparing a bottle, dressing the little guy, laundry, cleaning, arguing about diaper changes (landfills have a more pleasing scent than a baby's butt bomb!), and a million other things. Each day seems to be like the last; a drudging repeat of the same tasks. Just as you're wondering why you ever decided to have a child, he'll do the cutest thing that makes your outlook change. A beaming smile, an impish grin as he does the exact thing that you just asked him not to do (don't tell me a seven-month-old doesn't understand what I tell him!), frantically waving his arms until you pick him up, or gently snuggling his head into your shoulder as he drifts to sleep. It sounds so cliche (sounds downright idiotic), but little things like that make all of the trouble worth it.

Hey, wait a minute...there's too much estrogen floating around this house...have I turned into a big *****? What happened to the manly biker dude that I used to (think I was) be?! What of the impatient oaf and chauvinistic pig that I used to cultivate? I'm more patient now, and I censor myself a little more now that I know the little guy is learning from me....Did I turn into a woman? (Nope, I just took a minute and checked: still a guy!) I still take great fatherly pride in Levi's loud farts and his peeing on the bathroom floor (Cari's fault - every time!) and his cuteness (he looks just like his Daddy!)

As I stated just a few lines ago, there's never a minute off-duty. Turns out that Levi's bath time has now arrived, and I have to go take care of that.

Sometimes it seems like a hassle, this raising a Northern Baby, but every day - every hour - there is a reward.