Thursday, January 15, 2004

Sorry folks, more baby shit. I hate to turn into one of these people that does nothing but yap on and on about their precious little angel (god those people annoy the living fuck out of me, and I want to kill them all, especially when "precious" is brought to a grown-up restaurant where he/she/it screams, yells, and annoys everyone else. babysitter, people, baby sitter.)
But anyway... from an email to my pal/ former roomate Chris Dennstadt, who is a genius.

Right now he's upstairs feeding and I'm acclimating
surprisingly quickly to fatherhood considering how
much I bitched about it a few months ago. I feel
guilty because Melissa's been through so much with the
birth, followed by having to teach the kiddo how to
feed properly (it's instinctual, yes, but he's still
got to learn to identify the boob/nipple as food
source), and we're both tired from his erratic
schedule. I thought she was taking on too much, so
I've been official diaper changer, ass wiper, and
clothes dresser. I used to have to change my brother
when he was a little guy, so I have some practice.
The shit really doesn't bother you when it's your own
kid, and you get used to the smell. Also, whenever
she gets a chance for a nap, I take over keeping him
quiet if he wakes up. What more could i ask for: I
now have an excuse to sit around and sing country
songs for hours on end. All those bluegrass and
old-time songs sure do come in handy. They're so
repetitive, they all work as lullabies. especially
Doc Watson. Oh man, Doc Watson is a parent's best
friend.


I've been using Omie Wise as his primary lullaby. Melissa's nowhere near the music freak that I am, so I'm teaching her the melody so she can sing when I'm away. With a baby, it doesn't matter what you sing as long as it's the same melody each time. They associate it with sleep, and crash right out. It's a good thing too, because Omie Wise is a brutal song. The melody, in case you haven't heard it, sounds ike something medieval people in pointy hats would be dancing to. The Stanley Brothers album "old time songs" , which they recorded after an "official" recording session is great too. The recordings date from the Stanley's early period when they were going for a sound that's a cross between Bill Monroe and the Blue Sky Boys, and that version of "Handsome Molly" just put the kiddo down for the count.

You don't realize just how much love you have in your heart and then something like this happens to you. YIPES!