The Square has Rounded Edges

It is with joy and happiness that I report the birth of my son. He is a very happy and healthy baby and he joins my wife and my daughter to make us a family of four.

Fatherhood is a true blessing in life. As I started my journey into fatherhood later than many (I was 37 when my daughter was born), I have often thought about how I should grow and prepare to be the best father I can be for my children. With these thoughts also grows a saddness in that I can feel myself age and it brings into a sharper focus the shortness of our time here. I so wish to be healthy to stay with them as long as is possible. I am seriously contemplating reforming my life to one of greater emphasis on health. I am seriously striving to quit my two pipe a day habit, I do not drink any appreciable amount currently, but am contemplating having one glass of red wine before bed for its health benefits. I am thinking I should return back to active running/jogging and start training for the various 10K races like I did in my 20s. I am thinking of eating a more restrictive diet especially in terms of fats [My family's diet is good currently, for we are vegetarian probably 20 out of 21 meals a week and we emphasize whole foods, but there is room for improvement].

Perhaps if I can make the above my new life vision, I can increase how long I can stay with my beloved family.

Konrad

The Circle Within the Circle is More Round

It is difficult to come of age in a time that is perhaps not best suited for your personality. I suppose many people feel this from time to time. However, I think it is perhaps a malady I am more frequently afflicted with than many. It could be a birth order issue, or it could be the length of time between relatives in my family, or the generational time span that is found within my lineage.

My father, who is now deceased would be in his mid 80s today. He grew up during the Great Depression. My grandfather, long deceased would be 125 today. Imagine that. My grandfather was 23 years old when the Wright brothers flew their first plane in 1903! And yet I am only 40 years old. The span of time seems enormous. It is an odd feeling being the youngest child of parents who where the youngest children in their families.... especially when the youngest children in all of these families were born later in life.

Even within my childhood family, the ranges are enormous. My oldest sibling, my oldest brother, is 17 (seventeen) years older than I am. He was born right at that time of the end of World War II when the first BABY BOOMERS came into existance. I on the other hand, am not a baby boomer, but instead fall into the age category named GENERATION X.

I have felt so out of touch with the moment most of my life. I am GENERATION X, but I sometimes feel like I would better be a CIVIL WAR aged person. Other times I feel more alignment with being a person alive in the holy MIDDLE AGES. Other times I feel I would have made an excellent HIPPIE from the 1960s radical days. Other times I feel a kindred spirit with the artists of the 1920s living in Paris.

The time frame and the time shifts I feel are interesting and odd. I sometimes do not feel comfortable in my own generational timeframe.

Konrad