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Big E
Some people get several chances to be a parent. As for me, my one shot started back in 1978 when my son Erik was born on this day. It was 28 years ago. Time has certainly gone by quickly. Why does it have to do that?
I can recall his moment of birth at precisely 3am. I can remember seeing his Mom Gail hold him for the first time. I can remember putting a Dodgers cap on his little head. I can remember tossing him a tennis ball and teaching him how to hit line drives. All as if it were just a few years ago.
In 2004 Erik got married and left home on the same day. He and his wife Sarah moved to Cohoes, near Albany, and they recently purchased their first home.
Today is my son's birthday. I am proud of him. His Mom and I both taught him about life, about values, about the importance of education, about the importance of hard work and honesty.
Nothing will ever take away our thousands of hours of playing games that we invented when he was young. Games like "Hall of Fame Catches," "Glove Ball," "100 Catches in Grandma's Pool," and "Nerf Basketball." Even if I did put a hole in his bedroom wall trying to block one of his slam nerf-dunks.
Nothing will ever take away our hundreds of hours of watching Mets' games and enjoying a bucket of wings.
For many years now, I've called Erik "Big E" and I'm "FoxDad." He's maybe 5'7" but to me he is "Big E." To me he stands seven feet tall. He is every bit of the man I hoped he would be the moment I cradled him in my arms for the first time 28 years ago today.
Happy Birthday, Big E. I love you!
Comments
How can it be 10+ years since we graduated from Beekmantown? I went to high school with "Big E" and moved away from Plattsburgh. Recently I had the good fortune to become a parent myself. My wife and I added Holden Charles to our family and my life has turned upside down since that day. For much of my life I went along thinking that I knew what I wanted out of life, how to acheive my goals, and what it would take for me to succeed. My wife, Angela, and I had been trying for months to have a baby with no luck. Finally after taking her temperature and licking a microscope everyday for what seemed like an eternity it finally happened. Week 8 of pregnancy is when I finally saw him on a sonogram, but somehow it wasn't "real". Week 35 I saw him on a 4D ultrasound, but yet it still wasn't real. April 14th he was delivered via C-section, and it was real, and I think I cried more than he did. Up until that point, many people asked us "Are you ready?" and we would respond confidently "sure we're ready". We were not ready. I'm not sure you can be ready. I did everything I thought I could do to be ready, nothing helped. Birthing classes, parenting books, seminars (I even attended a breast feeding class), nothing prepared me for the day we brought Holden home. We got him strapped into his carseat and I was given the task of driving home. I thought to myself "where is my police escort?" Never have I driven more slowly or carefully in all of my life. Once we arrived home, reality hit. There are no nurses to help you change his diaper or swaddle him up tight when he cries. It was just the 3 of us and mommy was on the disabled list for a while. Sometime during those sleepless nights, everything I thought to be important was no longer important at all. My goals faded into the distance to be replaced by the shared goal of making Holden's life the best it could possibly be. I had been selfish for years, only thinking about what I had to get done and what my goals were. Now I had something much more important than anything else in the world, a son.
Now Holden is 6 months old and has his own unique personality. No longer is he just "luggage" that we carry around wherever we go, more and more he interacts with the world around him, and I want to show him as much of the world as I possibly can. I'm still a few years from putting holes in his walls blocking a nurf basketball dunk, but I'm certainly looking forward to it.
(Foxy's note: Outstanding comments, here, Steve. Yes, enjoy those years as a "daddy." Even though we never stop being fathers (thank goodness!), our "daddy" days are numbered. Enjoy every moment of it! It will pass quickly.)
Posted by: Steve Tipton | October 20, 2006 1:16 PM
I was one of those who remember Erik in his early days. He was a great youngster and showed early signs of creativity. How nice it is to follow Erik into adulthood. (Can he really be 28?) Thank you for these glimpses into his life and belatedly, Happy Birthday Erik!
Posted by: Barb Nephew | August 22, 2006 9:40 PM
Foxy:
Great blog. Being a parent myself I can certainly relate to the pride and joy you feel. On our kids birthdays, my wife and I still tell them all the quirky stories surrounding their births.
Being an educator, you certainly know the greatest gifts you can give a child are: love, guidance, and an education. It certainly appears you have given all three and thensome. My mother has a saying about parenting, "You raise them until they're 18, then pray.
Congratulations on a job well-done.
P.S. Cohoes isn't Plattsburgh but, believe me, it's a nice city.
Posted by: Vin Scully | August 22, 2006 10:17 AM