Owen Kenneth Miller: 11 Months

You know, aging is one of those topics you can reasonably ignore when you’re young.

You’ve got time.
It’s on your side.
The future is bright.
Your whole life stretching out before you.

Kids change that equation.

Where once you had wedding anniversaries (or friend’s weddings), football seasons or job-related deadlines, you end up tracking height, weight, teeth, crawling, walking, talking and a myriad of proto-school milestones.

Basically, you get to re-live your own youth, where all memories are firmly cemented to a grade or a memorable vacation. Only this time, it’s your daughter’s Pre-K graduation or Son’s birthday that help you remember the year.

So, it is with great pride and a more than a little “has it been *that* long” that I let you know that Owen Kenneth Miller is already 11 months old! Time flies.

He’s teething now (cutting 4 of his top, front teeth at once) near-walking (cruising, they call it) and adorable as the day is long.

I love you, O-wee-O!

Oh, and since I’ll be Lost-deprived for another 8 months or so, I should point out that what Neighborhoodies is trying to do here is what I did almost 3 years ago. It earned me C&D from Disney and about $300 bucks.

So I do measure the passage of time in other ways besides children. I measure it in Lost blogging. 😉

Lastly, I’m thinking of doing a parenting podcast. Would love to hear what folks think about hearing parenting “advice” from the likes of me.

Tuesday!

Pre-K Graduation

Today I took photos
Today I recorded video
Today I smiled
Today I cried

Tomorrow she’ll be in Summer Camp
This Fall she’ll be a Kindergartner
In my mind’s eye she graduated high school and college and got married all in the space of a song. (R. Kelly’s “The World’s Greatest” for those scoring at home.)

Plenty of other folks have better metaphors for this than I do.
I’m just a one-man wrecking machine of cliche and trite, banal, facile sentiment.
No one tells you it’s OK if it’s your kid, they just don’t understand (or maybe they do).

I don’t feel old, I still feel young, maybe still look young too. Maybe I still *AM* young, but that’s not where my mind and soul are at now.

I’m not me any longer.
I’m Raelyn’s dad. Part of me, anyhow.

A bigger part than I ever imagined.
A smaller part than I think I should be sometimes.
A part I know was sad and joyful to see that part of my heart which beats outside my body.

She’s the embodiment of her mother and I.
Our ambassador to all the friends and parents and lovers yet to come.
We’re reflections of one another.

We were all smiling today.