First and welcome

I've just put my daughter "down for the night", as they say, though she never stays "down" and certainly not "for the night". My partner is sleeping soundly beside her and I've tiptoed to the office for those last few hours when dads get to relax.

This blog is something I've been meaning to do for months now. As a new-ish father, I feel like sharing all of my successes, failures, surprises, and mostly just anecdotes to all who care to read. Becoming a dad has changed the way I interact with those closest to me (besides my partner, Alicia); we meet up monthly instead of daily, our activities tend to revolve around the baby instead of around the beer bottle, and the Internet is next to irreplaceable when it comes to keeping in touch.

I believe I've also made some huge alterations to how I live. Just tonight I shovelled the walkway. It snowed in Vancouver the past couple of days and I suspected someone might slip in the ankle-deep slush. I never would have bothered shovelling before, let alone worry about a stranger slipping on our sidewalk. But tonight I kept imagining the grade 4 kids who trudge by our house every morning slip on the un-shovelled sidewalk. Couldn't have that!

And I get excited about shopping for baby clothes! Last weekend I took my daughter Hadley to the local consignment kids' store up the street and spent over an hour browsing the snowsuits and toques. Maybe it's just the Christmas thing getting to me.

In any case, I don't plan on making this blog apologetic for being too fatherly. Indeed, the whole idea is to discuss parenting form the dad's view. I invite anyone to comment or co-blog, if I can figure out how that works. Ultimately, I would like to host a support group for new or old fathers here in Vancouver. My friend James, also a new dad of two children, has offered to help but it all comes down to time. The dads out there know this but plans and aspirations often fall by the wayside because your kid is the ultimate priority. I can go days without showering or doing the dishes simply because she's cranky and I can't leave her alone. But I don't resent a minute of it. Hadley is the joy of my life.

So...stay tuned for more.