Little Lombozo's Birthday - A Reflection Of Life

So my son will be turning FIVE in two weeks! FIVE! Zoinks!
I was sittin' there doin' some thinkin' about that. I couldn't fall asleep, so I pulled up my photo album and went through all of our photos. Photos from the second he was born, up until last weekend.
It really did set me to thinkin' and reflectin' and stuff..............

Before he was born, I never wanted children. I liked the freedom of being able to just pick up and go skiing for a weekend, or going out to the pub on a moments notice. When we were pregnant, I was terrified. I thought that my life was over. I wondered how I was going to afford this. How terrible a father I would be. Would I have animosity towards this baby for ruining my life?
The night my wifes water broke, I was almost suicidal with fear. She took a quick shower while I packed the car with the things she would need for her stay. Man, I thought, I need a drink something awful! I drove her to the hospital. I literally can't tell you what I was thinking on that 10 minute ride. We got to the hospital approx. 6:30 pm. We went to the 4th floor, which is ONLY for Birthing, and new parents until it was time to go home after a couple day stay. On the way up, a nurse said "Oh, you're going to the fun floor!"
I thought to myself 'the fun floor? You have to be kidding me! Man, this elevator is so freakin' small. I can't breathe.....'
Oh by the way - while I'm freakin' out and stuff, my wife was as calm as can be. You'd think we were going to pick up a pizza. She amazes me. The big stuff? She handles it fine. But the small stuff? Hah, forget about it! She goes berserk. If a microscopic spec of dirt gets tracked in on my shoe - Let me tell you - Armageddon is childs play in comparison.....
So we go to the room where this was going to happen. A table, a bunch of machines, a couple of chairs - which were surprisingly comfortable - and a TV mounted to the wall. I do remember that American Idol was on. I remember Justin Guarinis big mop of hair as he sang. Why I remember that, I don't know..... I really do worry about myself sometimes.....

Anyway she got prepped, while I paced. Then my mother in law shows up. I truly love her, but I was so not in the mood to hear her tell me fifty times "This is so exciting! You must be so excited!"
I'm thinkin' "Yeah, this is just great............" While I wore as close to a smile on my face as I could.
By 9:00, she was dilated enough to get serious. They administered her epidural. YIKES! I have even more respect for her than I did before, and that kiddies is saying something. I almost passed out watching them poke that needle into her spine, she just sat there watching the TV - Kelly Clarkson was singing. Ok, time for the Mother in law to say bye bye.
I held my wifes hand and was as supportive as I could be. Lot's of pushing.
Man, I am so glad that I'm a man!

At 1:48 am my son came into this world. With shaking hands I cut the cord. The doctor was wearing gloves. The doctor put him in my hands. My hands were the first flesh to ever touch him outside of the womb. His eyes were squinting, and his mouth was pursed as he tried to make sense of what was going on. He looked at me, and his tiny little hand "grabbed" my finger. My life was changed forever in that moment. I've never known love like I felt right then before. At that instant, I knew that I lived for this baby. With tears of joy dancing down my cheeks, I gave him back to the doctor so they could clean him up. They cleaned him up, wrapped him in a towel, and gave him to his mother. I watched as she held him for the first time, and I realized just how very lucky I am.
I likened his life to an empty chalice. That I could fill it with knowledge, and a plethora of other things, that would ultimately affect his personality.
As he grew I watched the curiosity as he experienced things for the first time. I am always keenly aware of his 'first time' things. The first time he saw a bug. The first time he ate ice cream. The first time he held a crayon. The first time we went on a pumpkin picking hayride. The wonder on his face as he experienced these things that I take for granted. I try to raise my son in alot of the same ways as my parents raised me. Trust me, I don't want to be exactly like them, but they did more good than bad. My parents were color blind. We lived on Army bases, and our friends, neighbors, and classmates made up every single race, religion, creed that there is. My son will never be taught hate.
I try to introduce him to a vast array of different things, and let him decide what he likes. I will support him in whatever he likes. He is the gentlest soul. He is very loving, and he has taught me so many things.

Hey little Buddy, I love you. I am so proud of what you've achieved. I'm a better man because of you.

Happy Birthday Son! Daddy loves you more than life itself

[edit on 11-7-2007 by lombozo]

Beautiful man.

Your best bit'a'thinkin' yet!

Originally posted by ChiKeyMonKey
Beautiful man.

Your best bit'a'thinkin' yet!

Thank you! Much appreciated.

Oh Lombozo, usually you make me laugh till I cry, but today you just made me cry till I laughed.That was absolutely the most moving and honest post I have ever read.Made me remember giving birth to mine(without an epidural).God your wife is brave, I would rather take the pain than be stuck with a huge needle like that.
Happy Birthday to your little guy,and despite your early reservations Iam sure you have turned out to be a wonderful father.

That was truly beautiful and ever so touching.

What more can I possibly say? You really said it all -- you succinctly expressed the meaning of life, of joy, of love. It's all summed up in your post.

I really am happy to know such a "good thinker" like yourself and I'm encouraged to think that some of those thinking genes may have been passed on.

Oh.....and Happy Birthday 'lil Lombozo.

I'm practically speechless, my friend. If only my ex had felt this for his kids. He sat in the hospital and just looked at them, no emotion whatsoever.

Your son and wife are very lucky to have you. you are a rare commodity, and we here love you.

great story man, thanks for sharing...

I just took a couple of minutes and thought back to the night my daughter was born. It was an awesome experience.

I remember holding her first as well and the first thing I noticed was her little blue eyes, just like dad.

I then, counted each finger and toe and looked at her ears and stuff, I wanted to make sure she was as perfect as possible, I was so scared that something would be wrong.

Then it hit me, OMG, she looked just like me...

Poor kid wouldn't have a chance... :shk::shk:

Then I realized that she might grow out of it and everything would be fine... well she'll be 15 at the end of this month and she is still looking just like me, I think she's beautiful though.

AD, BT, MM, EO - I've never written truer words. Thank you for your feedback. It means more than you know.
MM - Hey, a double thank you. I love all you guys as well.
Yeah, I'm a big softie these days, but I relish every single moment.

I would say type something, but, I am tearing up now, so, I'll just walk away..

Wow, that was a beautiful story and you sound like the best dad on earth. Your son is lucky to have you and you are lucky to have him. Time goes by so fast and kids grow up so fast. It always amazes me. Thanks for sharing your story. It also brought tears to my eyes.

[edit on 11-7-2007 by paigcal]

You all are such good friends. ATS is so very cool. Thanks for taking the time to read my recollections and reflections on life. It really does mean an awful lot to me.
Anyone who read my thread "The Playset From Hell"..... well.... I'm buying one of those great big trampolines with an enclosure for his birthday. Yep, I'm going to assemble it by myself........
Might be a story there somewhere.........
Thank you again my friends. Gotta go - Spongebob is coming on, and I gotta make some popcorn......

Ooooooooooh ....

Who lives in a pineapple under the sea?
Spongebob Squarepants!
He's porous and yellow, absorbent is he!
Spongebob Squarepants!
If nautical nonsense be something you wish
Spongebob Squarepants!
Then flop on the deck and flop like a fish!
Spongebob Squarepants!
Spongebob Squarepants!
Spongebob Squarepants!
Sponge Bob ... Squarepants!

What a great thing to share with your son. My daughter and I love it too!

Originally posted by MajorMalfunction

What a great thing to share with your son. My daughter and I love it too!

Yeah, Spongebob is one of the many ones we watch together. He loves Shrek, Cars, as well as many others. We've watched Monster House over many bowls of popcorn. He is aware that something is going on on Sundays during Football season. He puts his little Eagles jersey on, and I put my big Eagles jersey on. We make hot dogs - Yep, I boil them just like at the game, and have some snacks set up. Then we turn on the game, eat, and have a little catch with a mini Eagles football, much to the chagrin of my wife.
"Will you stop throwing the ball in the house!"
He'll watch a couple minutes of the game, but he doesn't get it. Whenever I scream at a play - and yes I yell at the TV, he'll come running in and yell with me - I yell, but don't curse in his presence. I look forward to the day that I take him to his first Eagles game. I know he would be frightened at this stage in his life. Due to his condition, one of the things that he has is hypersensitivity to sound. If you've ever been live to an Eagles game in Philadelphia, you'd know how incredibly loud the stadium is.

Awww man......now I'm all verclempt....sniff....."a peanut is not a pea nor is it a nut. Talk amongst yourselves......"


Ok, composure is back. That was very beautiful what you wrote and happy birthday to your son! He's a lucky kid!

By the way...didn't I read a post from you saying that was going to be your last post??? You just couldn't stay away, could you? Glad you couldn't! I was bummed! It's always fun reading your posts. You have a great sense of humor!

Originally posted by closettrekkie
Awww man......now I'm all verclempt....sniff....."a peanut is not a pea nor is it a nut. Talk amongst yourselves......"


Ok, composure is back. That was very beautiful what you wrote and happy birthday to your son! He's a lucky kid!

By the way...didn't I read a post from you saying that was going to be your last post??? You just couldn't stay away, could you?

Glad you couldn't! I was bummed! It's always fun reading your posts. You have a great sense of humor!

Thank you! But truth be told, I am the lucky one, not my son.
Yes, I did write a post proclaiming lower post counts from the lombozo man. After recovering from ATS withdrawal, I got out of my fetal position and come back to post as often as I can. I'm just not on as often as I used to be.
Thank you for the compliments!

OK! It's been a little while since I've been on - great to be back!
Tomorrow is the big party!
Alot of my wifes family is out of town/state. We sent courtesy invites to everyone. We figured that half of the people would RSVP as not coming. We figured wrong...........
We're having 90 people - 50 of which are kids! Oh man!
She's freaking out, and I now have a list of things to do approximately 1-1/2 miles long, give or take a couple of yards...... Yay............. Santa is glad that he doesn't have a list this long..............
Anyway, I have to go get to work on the house/yard. All my ATS friends - I would hope that positive thoughts for my best friend - Yes, he might be 4 turning five, but he is indeed my best friend - wil be coming in his direction.
Thanks everyone for putting up with my insane wackiness, but this is a real feeling. He's FIVE!!!!!!!!!!

So...... the little Dudes birthday is actually in a week, however we had his party this past Saturday. The day was PERFECT!!!! Sunny, mid 80's and zero humidity.
You know, life really is good..........
More than 80 people came, and 30 were kids under 7 years old. I live for this stuff! Even my wife, her 2 sisters and my mother in law didn't fight. AMAZING!!!!!!
Now here this, now here this.......... My loser brother in law faked an injury and didn't show up!!!!! YEAH! God smiled on me today! Maybe I'll go over and help him "prove" he has an injury....... He claimed to have broken his foot getting out of bed.......*Yawn*..... I love it when people like him think they're smarter than me............
OK, enough of my ranting. The party was awesome! My boy, and everyone who came had a great time. It went into the wee hours of the morning, and there are alot of wonderful memories. Wait..... I had a little (OK ALOT) to drink, and around 4:30 am I called it quits. Life eally is good!

Well it explains why we haven't heard from you in a while! I'm glad the party went smashingly, though it's nice to see you back on the board too.

Originally posted by MajorMalfunction
Well it explains why we haven't heard from you in a while! I'm glad the party went smashingly, though it's nice to see you back on the board too.

Glad to be back! MM, thanks for the nice words, as always, it means an awful lot.

Originally posted by MajorMalfunction
Well it explains why we haven't heard from you in a while! I'm glad the party went smashingly, though it's nice to see you back on the board too.

Glad to be back! MM, thanks for the nice words, as always, it means an awful lot.