Life

Everything Changes

by

Matthew T. Lipson

3.1 : Life

I wasn't for or against having children.  While other people's babies and children didn't excite me, I was neutral on the concept of having my own.  If having a child was important -- a necessity -- for the woman I partnered with, then having a child would become important to me.  What I didn't know was how, in a positive way, that decision would effect me.  My own naivete was important, and I feel is important to all potential parents.  If most of us knew the true consequences, we wouldn't do it.  I made the deal with my wife -- One yes, a second is negotiable.  You can't negotiate a child.  They are there or they are not.  You rise to the occasion or you don't.  I had no drive to be a parent.  I had no intrinsic love of children.  Babies ... I just didn't understand.  Then, my first arrived.  My reality changed in the most positive, drastic manner my life ever has.  I found a talent I didn't know I had.  More important, I found meaning.