Winter Babies

We have winter babies. As in, children that were born in the winter.

When I awoke this morning from a rough night of sawing logs, sore and groggy and maybe not looking forward to moving too fast – I was thankful for these wintertime siblings, because they brighten even the coldest, darkest and snowiest of nights or days.

The babies were not planned for winter, they just happened to happen this way. They join a long line of other great people, that we all know, who were born in the depths of the winter as well – planned or not.

Yup, for us the babies came in winter, though not immaculately, there was work involved and there is still work involved as we trudge through this season. These guys require assistance with boots, jackets, scarves, mittens; help into the car and with the seat belt; and still need that bedtime book to cozy into beds, slow their little hearts down and set the stage for winter dreams.

These babes of winter meet the longest night head-on. They coast through in deep slumber, the long nights providing for elongated dreaming, as the snow falls outside, with muted softness.

And these bros are strong as a Russian winter. They will probably be as stubborn as well –

Come April, we are almost at a loss – with what to do. From Christmas through January, February and then March we pop with kids whose birth days offer opportunity to engage with the cold rather than hide from it – even into that cabin fever, late February/early March time. (Garage sale-ing anyone? or not...)

They keep us cheerful, the winter babies, even through sub-zero temperatures - though they are no longer really babies (more like really hungry chipmunks). Even the little guy is growing somewhat independent and on the verge of being completely diaper free.

Of Capricorn, Aquarius and Pisces our future is dependent.

Fond memories of little *sleeping* guys.

The First Kiss...

The first time I kissed my wife was…. not great - and I am glad she is still with me. I am more than a lucky guy. We recall that kiss, together sometimes, though I personally would prefer not to, but looking back it may have been a sign...

Many people dream of that first kiss. Or, at least some people dream of that first kiss? I don’t know. I never dreamed of my very first kiss, I just sort of thought of it as just happening, no sweat. Perhaps I was more concerned with the mechanics, the mechanical form, perhaps the engineering of that first kiss?

Think of the mechanics of a pitcher delivering a pitch… or the mechanics of a golfer hitting a ball, heck maybe even the mechanics of a landing airplane (approach, address, delivery, follow-thru). I could elaborate… but probably not.

To dream of that first kiss versus to simply put it out there and let it happen...

Is it odd that I never dreamed of first kissing my wife? I think not, because I surely looked forward to it, but probably in some awkward way.

First kisses don't have to be strange, but they may have their own stories.

For me, I recall other first kisses that led to longer, protracted affairs/engagements. Yearly or seasonal events that may have been no more than exploratory science – enacted to simply get one accustomed to the varying possibilities in life. Living your life with someone else, sharing your stuff with someone else, realizing that there is more to it than you and your singular self. In this example, imagine that the first kiss happens – but then you aren't so sure about it, but you still go with it and you are lead somewhere and its fun for awhile - but then...? blah

There are also first kisses that led to absolute shut downs. As in - you went out, you made the kiss, you made things weird, you progressed way too quickly and regret (somewhat) your decision. Something didn't flow or mix right. There is the vague recollection of making those first kisses and during the process – telling myself “nope, that shouldn't have happened, what road are you going down? Get this over with… quickly!” Instinct going nuts saying "wrong time, wrong place, wrong person."

But, was it a decision? Or was it automatic payback… for a good date, for being friendly, to almost test for that spark, or chemistry (because, otherwise, something seemed more wrong than right).

Where am I going with this? A sign of things, our first kiss may have been a sign of things, good things, and this may sound terrible but, isn't there something to be said about imperfection? Probably not to NASA or to some elite combat unit, but surely there was something good about that bad first kiss. The kisses could only get better from that moment – as compared to that first kiss being it - the one quintessential liplocked bond from which all others would have to measure up to…

So, I guess I know how I think of that kiss... an important launching pad - an act that I had to put out there to get something started beyond the friend/acquaintance threshold (despite it's initial flaws).

Now, what my wife thinks about that first kiss may be different...



Note to our boys: when it comes to first kiss mechanics – think of  K-I-S-S (keep it simple stupid) and - you'll do just fine.