Leave no man (or child) behind

So, I start thinking about what three is going to mean and I realize that I only have two hands to hold. Holding a baby carrier in one hand and Sarah’s hand in the other means that Adam will have to walk ALONE, in the parking lot, with cars all around! I mean, I will be there but I have spent most of his life protecting him from unseen dangers and trying to predict others wild behaviors to prevent said injury. I was at the Y the other day and saw one of the moms that I regularly see there with her gaggle. She has three or four but I noticed that some kids were just left behind. I felt like I was watching an old war movie like Platoon when William Dafoe is running in slow-mo from the enemy to the chopper and the jungle is exploding all around him and they cue that sad music. I guess that at some point you have to let the baby birds fly but dude, that is scary. That also means that the car that I love, our Mitsubishi Endeavor, is going bye-bye and that the swagger wagon is on the horizon. The mini-van is an eventuality but with the addition of a third baby means that a Trifecta of car seats is not going to happen in our second row. I am convinced that this swagger-wagon advertising with the bald guy is aimed directly at me.

And now, the positives because what kind of stay at home dad would I be if I didn’t focus on the upside? One more kid means one more kid to love, one more kid to watch grow. It also means that my time as a stay at home dad is definitely extended. I am like Morgan Freeman in Shawshank Redemption in that I am close to parole and wondering if I can go back and re-enter society without a hitch. To go back through and experience what it is like to care for a baby again would be a ride for sure. But one that I am willing to take provided I still get to go to a picnic every once in awhile.