Comments | sargent: To Elijah on His First Birthday

sargent

To Elijah on His First Birthday

Feb 21, 2005 16:34

It is time once again for Sargent to wax nostalgic about fatherhood. Hidden behind the lj-cut tag, I give you

( To Elijah on His First Birthday )

Comments 21

lno February 21 2005, 14:57:31 UTC

Parenting is the hardest thing I've done yet, and it's a crapshoot whether I'm doing it right or not. Your mom and I are guessing at what to do, and sometimes the decisions we have to make are terrible. I've learned that crying will not kill you, even though it may kill me. I've learned to spend time with you, letting you play, joining in when you'll let me. Really, for all my grand ideas of teaching, you're the one teaching me.

I hear this from nearly all new parents, and I try to remind myself that I'll need to remember it when I have children and not have to learn it for myself.

This is a wonderful entry. Thanks for writing it, and happy birthday, Elijah.

sargent February 22 2005, 10:26:00 UTC

Thanks. And good luck in remembering that advice -- I was going to remember it, too, but failed miserably.

ooshiny February 21 2005, 15:01:51 UTC

Wow. You may not have cried writing it, but I came darn close in reading it. And it takes a certain je ne sais quoi to get me to cry at written word. Congratulations on a year of being Dad, and Happy Birthday, Eli.

sargent February 22 2005, 10:26:47 UTC

Thanks! And Eli responds in a fine fashion: LOODLELOODLELOODLELOODLE.

ooshiny February 22 2005, 10:27:56 UTC

Heh. There's a tape somewhere of me as a 1-year-old doing my "LODILODILODILODILODILAAAA" routine. Eli could use it for duet material and make millions.

sargent February 22 2005, 10:30:35 UTC

You're on!

Thread 5

veek February 21 2005, 15:48:14 UTC

Happy Eli's birthday, Sarge. Eli sounds (and reads!) like a blast. I'd love to meet him someday. In the meantime, your posts fuel my impatience to have a child. It'll be another few years, but it'll happen, and I am happy to know that I'll be joining the ranks of such good, kind, caring parents.

sargent February 22 2005, 10:27:17 UTC

Thanks! I certainly play a good parent on LJ. :)

zrblm February 21 2005, 16:13:38 UTC

The bit about the projectile vomiting reinforces my conviction never again to live anywhere with carpet.

Also, that was great to read. Soon will come his first sentence, his first day of school, his first giant orbiting laser...

sargent February 22 2005, 10:27:43 UTC

Yeah, the carpet cleaner came out in force for that one. As for his first laser, hm....

huskyscotsman February 21 2005, 17:37:22 UTC

What they said, plus I would like to say that that is a cute birthday cake. It reminds me of the bespoke birthday cakes that my sister used to make for my little brother. When he was obsessed with Thomas the Tank Engine she made him a Thomas-shaped cake, when he was obsessed with the Yellow Submarine movie she made him a submarine-shaped cake... I wonder if this ritualistic annual devouring of something he admired had any lasting impact on him.

If we were to make him a cake now it'd have to be a GameCube.

sargent February 22 2005, 10:28:36 UTC

Eli is a big fan of Sesame Street, so it does seem weird that he'd enjoy a cake incorporating his favorite things that he then BIT INTO.

Also, "bespoke cake" is funny.