Sasser Boys (CTL 14)

Countdown to Laughter

Issue 14

We had a wonderful mini-shower last night (A sprinkle). There may not have been a lot of people, but Nancy and I both felt overwhelmingly loved. These folks will be a big part of Isaac’s village. Our hosts, Jeff and Lynn have two little boys. Adam and Daniel were evidently competing to see who could be the cutest child, with extra points awarded for being funniest and loudest as well. Adam had recently discovered Peter Pan, and spent most of the evening offering people a hook made out of tinfoil then whacking them with a foam rubber sword. Adam can go through about six intense emotions in 20 seconds. He can laugh, hug you tenderly, call you a “cry baby”, and then throw a tantrum in the blink of an eye. He is at his funniest (to outsiders at least) when he is mad. He stomps around using exaggerated gestures and calling you random names he has learned at daycare. When he threw a tantrum last night, all the childless folks in the next room were doing their best not to laugh out loud.

Daniel’s primary form of communication is laughing loudly, so wherever he goes a party follows. He especially enjoyed shredding tissue paper with the efficiency of an office machine.

Both kids are a lot of fun, but wear me out quickly.

We got lot’s of great stuff last night, but one gift in particular really touched me. Jeff’s mom made us a blanket, booties and a hat. We don’t know her that well, but are amazed at the grace she showed us.

This weekend my friends Matt and Alex are here for a “Baby” bachelor party.

It’s different from the “Wedding” bachelor party in that it was highly unlikely that the “bride” would show up in the middle of the festivities, whereas, Isaac could easily crash this party. (It will also differ in that Matt, Alex, and I won’t be driving to the seediest part of Tampa for this party.) We will probably end up drinking beer, playing X-box, hitting some golf balls, and going to watch the Grasshoppers play.

Nancy and I have a running joke between us about how , “Once the baby gets here, we will never again”. The blank has been filled in with everything from “Go out to a restaurant”, “Have sex”, “Go to a movie”, to “Run through bicentennial park butt naked at three in the morning howling at the moon”. (Nancy wants to assure everyone that the last one just applies to Max and I.) We do it as a hyperbole of all the gloom and doom advice we’ve received, but there is a little nervous laughter as well.

My brother in law, Ryan, assures me that your priorities change, and your life adapts. I guess I can wear the baby carrier next time I feel the need to howl at the moon.

Big Matt