I was struggling, and very lucky to have a partner who saw it and pointed it out and tried to find ways to make it easier.
One thing that got easier: I was bad at bottlefeeding, now I'm better. My wife always seemed to get her feeding times done more quickly, and quietly, and easily. Mine, I'd drag myself back to bed hours later, exhausted, irritable, eardrums fried. Something needed to change! Turns out: skill issue. I needed to learn what works today instead of relying on what was convenient 3 weeks ago. Lesson: a beginner's mind and a good coach can make all the difference.
Some big milestones this last week: outings with baby to a coffee shop, to a couple parks, the playground, a sunny morning picnic, etc.. Reminding myself that we're growing just as he his, spreading our wings and figuring out how to operate them as parents. It takes a constant gentle push to keep getting out there and realizing how much easier it is when you're in it vs. anticipating it.
I think along with parenthood I'm feeling a new urgency, a greater desire to do things NOW, while the opportunity is there. No time to waste.
Books
The Hard Way.
Running
Losing the weekend long run as my anchor sorta throws things off, but still got several good local runs in. Need to work on the non-run exercise in between...
Around the Web
"You know you’re doing something right when there’s a lot of singing, dancing, bopping, etc. in your day-to-day..."
Born In The USA? This Blanket Might Look Familiar.
Americans Don’t Understand Who’s Rich. "For every CEO of a public company, there are more than 1,000 private-business owners with a net worth of more than $25 million…"
How the MTA Learned to Build Again.
Has Taking the Perfect Photo Ruined Tourism?
"Discussing these AI systems, everybody wants to talk about “intelligence”, but I don’t think that’s the profoundest thing about them. Rather, I believe it’s the other -ences: patience, diligence."
Nothing, Except Everything. I need to go back and listen to more Beach House.
Music
Several from Talos: heartfelt swelling torch songs, often in falsetto. Makes me think of Anohni and the Johnsons, in a good way. (Thanks to Chris Martin for putting him on my radar.)
- Wild Alee
- Far Out Dust
- Dear Chaos. Happy to see a Brian Eno cover: "Spinning Away".
Three albums from Masakatsu Takagi, which became a perfect gentle wee-hours feeding & lullaby soundtrack:
Movies
Fuze. Sturdy crime thriller, good hints and satisfying twists. David Mackenzie's Hell or High Water was also great.
TV
The X-Files, s7e2 "The Sixth Extinction II: Amor Fati". Glad that we're wrapping up this storyline.
WandaVision, s1e1–4. Loving this show so far. Using the style of old tv shows – in costume, setting, delivery, movement – is so good.
Reacher, s4e7–8. Best season to date? Maybe need to rewatch the first for true comparison, but this was a huge breath of fresh air.
Lanterns, s1e1–2. I'm out.
Neagley, s1e1. A little Reacher cameo to hand off the baton and we're off sprinting. I'm in!