Changing Expectations.

I somehow thought that when I became a parent I would start believing all sorts of parent-like things, like that Zero Tolerance is a good policy in schools or that we should have 1,000 junky plastic toys all over the house.

But it's not true. I'm still the same guy with the same crazy ideas - only now I have a kiddo.

Maybe its because the parents I most associate with parenthood are those that I saw growing up in the suburbs, and they all seemed to think the same. But maybe that's just how I remember things.

Maybe it's like quitting smoking. Some (most) people after they quit act like they're repulsed by the very idea of smoking and go on a campaign to convert all of their smoking (former) friends. Me, I still think smoking's cool and sometimes wish I could still do it. In fact, I encourage smokers to keep it up.

Which brings me to a sort of related topic. I was talking to a client yesterday, and we were going through the whole New Baby spiel. I said what SuperWife oftens says, "People always tell you that your life will be totally different, but you don't really understand until they're born."

And the client (a man) said: "And they almost always say it as a negative. They never talk about all the wonderful ways it will change."

Most of the men in my office say things like: "To be honest, after two weeks at home with a screaming baby, you'll be glad to come back to work."

Let's be honest. That's a fucking lie.