6 Weeks...

FYI, 1 month, 1 week, & 5 days translates into 6 weeks total...

Your mom and I are in our early 30s, and for the past few years, time just seemed to fly by.  I was 25 when we met, working at a dead end insurance sales job and slinging cocktails at your mom's bar to make ends meet.  It is hard to believe that it has been 7 years since I met your mom.  The past 7 years have gone by so fast, but it pales in comparison to the last 6 weeks (literally and figuratively).  I have previously mentioned how everyone tells us to enjoy our time with you as a newborn, because in the blink of an eye, you will be a teenager rebelling against everything we say.  Its not like I didn't believe these people, but man, the last 6 weeks have FLOWN by!  This issue are likely compounded by a number of other changes in our lives (i.e. new jobs and new cars), but you are surely at the center of it all.

In order to help you understand how you will perceive time as you grow up, I have put together the following handy illustration.  See below for a more detailed explanation of your life expectancy...

• From birth until about 5 years of age, I assumed that time would be passing rather slowly.  I may be completely wrong, but it seems like since you really don't know anything and you can't even control even the most fundamental of movements.  Seems like some weird form of prison, which is why I assumed that your perception of time has got to be REALLY slow right now.

• From 5 to about 15 years of age I assumed that your perception of time would start to pick up for you.  You would likely experience times that seem to really drag on (such as school, homework, chores, etc.), but you would also experience times that seem to fly by (like summer and fishing trips with grandpa).  Overall, good times should far outweigh the tough times, so I expect your perception of time to pick up a bit.

• From 15 to about 18 years of age, things start to get interesting.  These are your high school years, and they can either be one of the best times of your life, or it could be one of the worst times.  Even if you are just middle of the road in the popularity department, high school will likely be a decent time, making these four years pass rather expeditiously.

• Notice a decline in your perception of passing time from 18 to 21.  Once you turn 18, many milestones will be behind you.  You can vote, serve in the armed forces, purchase cigarettes (I will kill you!!), and you will also likely be away at college.  However, the 800-pound gorilla in the room is the fact that you STILL won't be able to have a beer in public.  Now, drinking SURELY not the most important aspect of your life during these three years, BUT if you are anything like your mom and dad, you're social life will be an active one, and this milestone will be an important one.

• And then you turn 21, and its all downhill from there.  With the exception of your wedding day and witnessing the birth of your own children (assuming that you are appealing enough to the opposite sex that the latter of these milestones is feasible), there is likely nothing else significant in your life that will slow your perception of time from here on out.  It will likely spiral out of control until you are in a nursing home having someone else change your diapers AGAIN!

There are countless more milestones and important events that you will experience along the way,  but most of these important events will be milestones for YOUR children, like their first words, their first steps, their first ANYTHING! But even these events will likely all seem to blur together after a while.  You will eventually find yourself reflecting on your child's first words or first steps as you watch them receive their diploma or walk down the aisle.  Every day that passes, is a day that you can't get back, so make the most of EVERY day, and you will never live with regret.

I am lucky!  I have never taken anything for granted, and I am proud to say that I have enjoyed almost every moment of my life to this point, with the crown jewel accomplishment being your birth 6 weeks ago today.  Although I know that you will be a moody 16-year-old in the blink of an eye, I am sure to have a wealth of fantastic, meaningful, proud, fatherly memories of you along the way (along with a handful of bad ones!).

Til the next time...

Dad