So my son was born on July 31. I would have done a day log then, it would have been the perfect day for it, right? But I was a tad busy, as one might expect. Anyway, I've been wanting to node something on this, about how wonderful my trek into fatherhood has been, how exciting it is, how weird it is, and my reaction when he first met the world, but there's probably not much I can say about it that hasn't been said before.
One thing I found especially interesting about my son being born on July 31 is that, as I understand it, he has the option of beginning school a whole year earlier than all the kids who were born less than twenty-four hours later on August 1. In America (or at least in Missouri), July 31 is the cutoff. Funny how that little difference of time can have such an impact on a life. One minute, hell, even one second of time can mean either being the youngest person in your class or the oldest. 11:59 PM on July 31, the kid can start school at five years old. 12:00 AM on August 1, the kid has to wait until he's six. I was born on June 20 and my son Ryan, like me, will graduate high school when he is 17.
I really like it that my wife was induced so she gave birth on July 31. That means my son will get a head start on life, more of one than if he had been born ten hours and twenty-four minutes later. Imagine: that small difference in time can mean a totally different set of classmates in high school and college, an almost entirely different set of friends...well, basically a significant difference in his life in general.
Funny how Fate works out that way. My son's life would have been so different if he'd have been stubborn and stayed in that womb another 10 1/2 hours.
My son. God, that still sounds weird.