milestones

During a man's life, there are many assorted milestones that nearly all of us will pass by, eventually. Walking, talking, puberty, learning to drive, etc. Moving out, getting married, having children are some of the milestones we tend to pass as we enter adulthood. The other day, I figured out that I have reached a new marker in my journey. I am dead center in the middle of getting older.

I learned that one of my best friends has cancer. Hodgkin's to be specific. Stage 3, type A Hodgkin's Lymphoma. Granted, this particular kind of cancer has a very high success rate in treatment. So he's got that going for him. But damn, you just know you're getting older when one of your contemporaries gets the big C.

Speaking of milestones, my son has begun announcing his bowel movements, usually immediately after he has one. He says, "I poop, ewww." It's adorable. I'm told it's one of the first signs that he's about ready for potty training. Which I'm told is a big pain in the ass. But it will so be worth it when I no longer have to buy diapers or wipes for my little Kai.

We've also crossed into the "time-out" era, recently. At mealtime, Kai used to just toss his sippy cup on the floor from his high chair, and expect us to pick it back up. It was cute for the first two or three hundred times, but then it just became annoying. When he continued to throw his sippy cup on the floor, clearly defying us, we delved into our "Supernanny"-inspired bag of tricks and went for it. Needless to say he did not care for it. It was probably the longest 30 seconds of me and Erin's lives. It was probably as hard for us as it was for him. The look on his face when I went to get him was heartbreaking.

But he hasn't thrown his cup from his high chair since — HALLELUJAH! I am officially a fan of the time-out.

Luckily, we have only had to do it a few times. There's only so many more milestones I can take right now.

never gonna