During the course of her pregnancy, my lovely wife spent countless hours chronicling her journey to motherhood on her blog. While I hope she continues to write about her experiences, I feel oddly compelled to blog about life as a new dad. If you know me, you know I don’t like to sugar coat things so what you’ll read here will be the real deal – all of the amazing, frustrating and perplexing adventures that stand before me will be told in true detail. Let’s get it on!
The Legacy Lives On
Flashback: Mid-to-late 80′s/cold winter day/standing in front of my grandfather’s apartment with my grandfather, Ralph
Ralph: Come here and listen to me. You’re the last Gregory male – it’s up to you to carry on the family name. Do you understand what I’m saying?
Me: (completely stunned, freezing my ass off, praying for my dad to find what he was looking for in Ralph’s apartment) Umm, yes grandpa.
Flash forward to April 2, 2009. My wife tells me we’re having a baby. I asked her if she was trying to pull a delayed April Fool’s joke over on me. She says “No! I’m really pregnant!”. A wave of joy and amazement washes over me. Flash forward a few months. My wife and I are at the OBGYN office watching the monitor of the sonogram. I see it before the tech does – a penis. A very tiny but very obvious penis. The tech squints at the monitor and confirms what I saw – a penis. Tears well up and I smile.
In that moment, my mind flashes back to that exchange with my grandfather. Personally, I believe everything happens for a reason. Maybe my grandfather knew what the future held for me or maybe he didn’t. Either way, the legacy lives on in my son, Liam. Welcome to the world, kiddo. It’s a better place with you in it.
