Having a new baby has certainly changed the pattern of life. Change for the positive, but things are really different. Not that I didn’t expect that difference, of course, but until it’s experienced it really can’t be understood.

With our first child, I lived much closer to where I worked. I could go home for lunch, head home in an emergency, and just go back to work right afterwards. My hours weren’t as static, either. Sometimes I had to work evenings in order to attend a city hall meeting and make my deadline. In short, the experience then hadn’t prepared me for what we’re going through now.

I live at least one and a quarter hour away from where I work, and that’s at the whim of public transit. My hours are more rigid, so I can’t stay up all night. My wife is somehow able to do so as needed, though, and for that I can’t do anything but praise her.

I was talking about life being different though, wasn’t I? There’s a lack of casualness about things. Every action takes on even more meaning than they had before. Decisions impact our family just that much more with the baby here.

My time with my son has become more important. To both show him that he’s still loved, as well as to be able to inspire and teach and guide him are now my charges. My time with my wife, as well. We are desperate for a few private moments, but they are nigh-impossible to come by since the birth.

Is it worth it? Hell yes. Do I have second thoughts? Of course not. Life has become, however, observably different, and because of that it’s all the more remarkable.