As Bob Dylan once famously wrote, "The Times They AreA-Changin." True story about that song; Dylan didn't even feel strongly
about the lyrics he was writing. Instead, he just saw that people seemingly
wanted an anthem of change to rally behind so he thought, "Hey, why
not?".
For the record, there's not exactly strong winds of societal
change going on in the Holt household. However, there are a multitude of new
things set to erupt within the next six weeks as "Chewy" will make
his entrance at some point. Before that can happen, there are plenty of things
that need to take place first.
For starters, it'd be nice if "Chewy" had a real
name by the time he is born. Even though Ellie's affectionate nickname for her
little brother is precious in its own way, he probably shouldn't go through
life with "Chewy" as his legal name. To quote my wife,
""Chewy" is a dog's name. He needs a people name." For the
record, he does have a great first name that Bethany and I are definitely
excited about. We just still need to figure out the middle name.
That's not all that needs to happen though. With me spending
most of the past month laid up, we really haven't been able to get much
preparation done for little "Chewy". That changes this weekend though
as Bethany will finally be able to satisfy her nesting urges with a little help
from our friends (Hey, also a song title!). A small contingent of guys will be
descending upon House Holt on Saturday morning to partake in something I like
to call 'Operation Move Our Stuff'.
While Bethany and I are excited to see 'Operation Move Our
Stuff' completed, in all honesty, it will not affect us nearly as much as it
will Ellie. You see, one of the most important steps in 'Operation Move Our
Stuff' involves Ellie bidding adieu to her toddler bed and graduating at long
last to a twin bed. The toddler bed is to be converted back into a crib and
moved into our guest room where "Chewy" will reside for the first
year of his life. In turn, our twin bed will be moved off of its frame and
placed in the spot vacated by the crib.
Even though Ellie is seemingly excited for this change, I
can't help but think there will be an adjustment period. I mean, I have
recollections of my college roommate rolling off of his lofted twin bed in his
sleep to the hard floor below when he was used to sleeping in a full. One would
think that if an eighteen-year-old struggled with switching beds, a toddler
might as well.
I have to admit that I'm slightly intimidated and scared by
the prospect of life changing so dramatically in just a few short weeks. It
feels like just a short time ago when we were going through a similar set of
changes in preparing for Ellie, or as she was known at the time, Slugger.
However, I can take comfort in knowing that no matter how
much things change, the more some things will remain the same. For proof, look
no further than bath time with Ellie last night.
Since she had a great day
listening, she got the reward of being able to listen to music during her bath. Now, one would think that Ellie would immediately ask for
some kind of children's music. No, instead she had three simple requests: "Ooga-chaka,
Lenka, and Our Song".
For the record, those songs are more commonly known
as 'Hooked on a Feeling', 'The Show', and '3 Rounds and a Sound'.
It feels lame to be saying/typing but it honestly makes
tears begin to well up in my eyes knowing that the very songs I've been singing
to Ellie for the last two-and-a-half years are still so important to her. When
she's scared and can't sleep, those are what she wants me to sing. To tell the
truth, I've even wondered if we'll someday be dancing to one of those songs together
at her wedding.
Change and same, change and same. The two things really are
forever linked. #DaddyWrite
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