"We named the dog Indiana."

"I loved that dog."

One year ago... at 1:00 AM... my wife scared the shit outta me. It was "time." Life was already different, but this was IT! I was about to be officially responsible for the life of another human. Even though a rather small one, I was scared. I was wiggin' out in ways only fellow neurotic Scorpios know. (But I think I hid it rather well thank you very much. As no one ever paid me any attention the whole night. Which is exactly as it should be.)

10 hours later, HE had arrived. Not quite the way we expected, but beautiful, purple, and LOUD as ever. I cried and blubbered like an idiot. But that's ok, we were all crying. (And boy were his balls frkn HUGE! If only my gnar orbs were that big, I could rock-n-roll the 11' on demand no problem. But anyway...) And did you know, babies come with hats? Isn't that cool?



A year has passed. He still has big gorgeous blue eyes, and thin whispy blonde hair. (He must learn to surf.) He's much bigger and his "gnar" is much more proportional. The grin produced by only 8 teeth is infectious. The giggle, the shake of his head, the light he emits when I or his mother walk into the room, will all melt my heart in an instant. I imagine that will not change for me, ever.

No matter how gorgeous that woman, how sweet that skatepark, how perfect that deck set-up... there is nothing more beautiful than your child. If you have one or more, you know. You've tried to explain it to people, but like me, they didn't understand. I believed it, I knew it was true, but I never understood. Until last January...

Life is indeed grand. Happy Birthday Indy. Hope you're having a good time.