New Book Coming This Spring!

*****Below is a snippet of an upcoming short book I'm currently writing, 'The New Dad Chronicles'. With over 30 humorous stories of my first six months as a New Dad, it has definitely been fun to write, and something I think can make people laugh while reading. Stay tuned in the coming months for release info!*****

Chronicle 12

I never felt I’ve had to document much of anything in my life through pictures and videos. In fact I’m pretty sure I even wrote a college paper on how we need to be ‘in the moment’ and need to ‘take away distractions like lenses’ and use the ‘natural camera you’ve always had’ to remember a moment. I was totally against the social media movement.

I’d like to meet my college-aged self now and smack him in the face with a book of pictures because all of those philosophies died the second our girl was born. From the moment that I first held her I felt a compulsive need build inside me like I’ve never had before. “I’ve gotta take a picture of this.”

Those words might as well be the slogan for my life. Never before have I felt the need to have physical proof of each moment than when I became a new parent. 

“Oh, she smiled! Gotta take a picture.”

“Oh she laughed! Take a video.”

“Look she’s sleeping!” Click.

“Oh man, she’s in her walker!” Click.

“Wow, she’s rolling!” Hit the red button.

“Oh look she smiled again!” Click.

“And wait...wait now she’s sleeping!” Click.

“This is just all too good to miss.”

It’s like my wife and I are in a never ending photoshoot for a 2 month old where we are desperately trying to get her attention so that she’ll look at the camera without moving her head for a good second and a half. I’m not sure why this is or what exactly is wrong with me, but I feel as though I’m going to miss any moment after this one and I’ll be in regret of it for the rest of my life. It’s like I have this subconscious fear that one day, I’ll be sitting in a cave with my wife in future post-apocalyptic world with a wardrobe full of pictures and videos and still will disappointed that I didn’t catch that ‘one’ moment on camera. Being a parent is weird.

On top of everything else, before my daughter, I never took selfies. And I do mean never. Just writing the word makes me cringe. But for reasons I still don’t quite understand, I find myself taking the camera out and focusing on both me and her, sometimes taking ten because I’m horrible at keeping my hands still. 

"Here's us on the couch." Click.

“Here’s her asleep in my arms on the couch.” Click.

“Here is me talking to her so that she’ll smile even though she’s just looking at me confused.” Record.

I’m strangely confused and fascinated by this need.

And the thing about taking pictures and videos and documenting everything I deem as important or cute comes down to one notion I didn’t know to be true before. I can never have enough pictures of my kid. I can never have enough videos of my kid. I can never have enough pictures of my kid watching videos of themselves looking at pictures.

I never understood why my parents had boxes and boxes of pictures of myself and my siblings. I honestly thought it was pretty creepy when I was twelve. I was so dumb.

Well played, Mom and Dad. I get it now. 

Kids are the best. And I have proof. 

Lots and lots of proof.