Musings of JR Simmang

TIDAL WAVE They say, in March, my life will be a tidal wave. But, I don’t know if they know how tidal waves behave. The water recedes from the shoreline, laying bare the ghost of its silence, showing us the upset coral of thousands of stranded souls who never quite made it. Then, off in the distance, the penitent potentiality rises up to the sky in prayer, and hurtles itself, with all abandon, against the rocks and muck and grime as if shouting will never work the same way it had in the past. Its hammer-fist renders the cliffs to melting metronomes, the beach becomes an avalanche. Floundering, staccato becomes the life, and the line between earth and salt and water is erased by the hands of an angry toddler, who, incidentally, is crying to be held only to be shushed by a spinning, lighted mobile (the one with the soothing sound effects that could never replace, nor should ever replace, the beauty in the lullaby). If there were people, there aren’t now,...

For those of you who don't know, I'm slated to be a father in a few short months, and I could quite possibly, if I weren't restrained, dance in the streets every day, shake hands and hug everyone I meet, and whistle myself into a silly little happy-pile. It's my hope that every father-to-be feels the same way when they hear their littles are on their way. I know that some aren't. So, here are some things that I've come to learn as this process continues. 1. Do the right thing. I love my wife, wildly, passionately, and with every fiber of my being. Mainly, it's because she's awesome. Secondarily, it's because we've been through a lot together, and the spark still sparks. We talk to each other. We make each other laugh. We learn from each other. I'm lucky. I want to be here. I know some of you guys out there approach pregnancy with a cross, holy water, strands of garlic, and a plague suit. That's actually how you should approach the rea...