Wow

Bodhi is engaging and interacting with the world around him with fascination, sensitivity and joy. He is a good natured baby who loves to play, be outside and be with us. He has strong legs and a strong will. And a very strong voice. We are learning more about each other everyday, developing a routine and doing our best to live a balanced and active life. 

Six months into this little science experiment, things seem to be settling in.

A couple weeks ago, I’m with the dad’s group in Orinda. I’m drinking  a beer and Bodhi’s strapped to my chest. I’m feeling happy and comfortable and confident about fatherhood, the sun is shining, and all is well.

Then I get a call from Kate.

“Bubby, I have to tell you something.”

I anticipate tragedy.

“I was feeling nauseous this morning, so… I… decided to take a pregnancy test.”

U-huh. My heart races. To my left, Paul and Frank are discussing football.

“And, it’s positive.”

My joy is matched only by my disbelief. This can’t be actually happening. This cannot be real. I walk away, stand Bodhi in front of a mirror and tell him that he’s going to be a big brother. He smiles from ear to ear, and so do I.

Wow.

This is actually happening. 

A Month in the Life

Bodhi loves music. I can stop a car meltdown by playing “Catch the Wind” by Donovan or singing our most frequently used made up song, “Bodhi Boy.” He is almost sitting up on his own and “tri-pods” like a champ.  He is a rolling machine and can move himself several feet in a matter of seconds. He is finally paying attention to the cats and, to their dismay, enjoys pulling their hair. He explores surfaces by scratching them. He scratches inanimate objects. He sits in high chairs when we go out to eat.

He is eating rice cereal, bananas and avocados. He eats half an avocado in about three minutes. He really likes to eat. He makes new and different noises everyday. He loves new faces and likes grabbing noses. He grabs anything and everything in front of him and either puts it in his mouth, or shakes it around violently while smiling. He is happy. He has two teeth coming in. He loves being outside. He “talks” the most when we’re hiking in the woods. He always watches Obama’s speeches. He rocks his playmat, excersaucer, bumbo and jumpster. We accumulate crap to accumulate breaks. 

I turned 30. I ate cake and played football with my friends in the Oakland Hills. I joined a dad’s playgroup. We meet every Monday in various Bay Area parks, grill and drink beer. A couple weeks ago, we went to the new California Academy of Science and Bodhi got a glimpse of a whole new world. He was captivated.

We escaped to Mendocino for a weekend. We hiked the coastal trail, sat in our hot tub, drank wine and looked at the stars. We built a fire, slept with the door open and listened to the waves crash against the rocks.

I took a robbery case to trial and won. On cross-examination, I discredited a cop who testified that my client confessed to the crime. My client looked remarkably like Leandro Barbosa. He was stoked. And he was also innocent.

It is fall, the air is crisp and the weather is stunning. Life with Bodhi is both invigorating and exhausting. Things are good.

Damage Control

The Republican spinsters looked forward to tonight’s debate as an opportunity for Sarah Palin to simply be herself and show the American people who she really was. The truth is, the last thing Republicans want is for Sarah Palin to be herself.

Sure, they love the smiles and “doggone its,” as long as she clings studiously to her script regardless of whether it answers the questions asked, or meaningfully contributes to the topic being discussed.

Her unscripted, one-on-one interviews where she was actually pressed to answer the questions being asked of her, Republicans say, amount to nothing more than misleading soundbites, conjured and disseminated by a biased liberal media.

But it was not Katie Couric’s questions that created the “gotcha” moments that dominated headlines this week, it was Sarah Palin’s disturbing inability to answer them. The questions themselves were fair and pertinent for someone seeking the vice-presidency.

Besides Roe v. Wade, what Supreme Court cases do you disagree with? What newspapers or magazines do you read? What has John McCain done in his 26 years in the Senate to promote the regulation of the banking industry?

These are questions designed to reveal key policy positions and the media sources that inform them.

And what did the real Sarah Palin give us? Lots of platitudes and generalities but not one case, not one publication and a “I’ll try to find ya some and I’ll bring ‘em to ya.”

Clearly, actually answering questions is not her strong suit.

So tonight, she got back to her strengths and proved to the American people that reading a teleprompter is not her only strength. She can also memorize index cards.

But by not actually answering any questions, she managed to exceed the expectations of most observers. Disturbing? Disappointing? Frightening?

You Betcha!