I intended to start this column by informing readers I’ll be making a temporary switch from listening to whining farmers to comforting crying babies.
But that’s not fair.
My baby rarely cries.
Just kidding. Like most babies he does cry on occasion.
Oh, and I was joking about the farmer stuff, too.
Actually, farmers seem to be a happier lot than they were five years ago when I last took a couple of months of parental leave.
That was back in 2005, a year of falling grain prices and rising input costs. Sound familiar?
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I guess the disappointment contained in the latest Pool Return Outlook and prices offered at the local elevator have been tempered somewhat by a couple of years of stellar returns.
I too have a different outlook heading into my second go-round at being a full-time Mr. Mom for a couple of months. I think it can best be described as abject terror.
My fear stems from the fact that baby No. 2 has a bond with Mrs. Mom that is stronger than Super Poligrip. We have our moments together, but that is all they are.
As soon as Mom enters his view, two pudgy baby arms stretch out over my shoulder.
It was that way with baby No. 1 as well but he has an easy-going personality. Something tells me baby No. 2, who is more of a going concern, won’t be as willing to adapt to the new reality that Mom won’t be around during daytime hours.
I also have some weather-related concerns. My last parental leave was during the hot summer months. Days were filled with strolls around the neighbourhood, hair-blowing swing rides and tiny toes splashing in paddling pools.
Dressing baby No. 2 in a parka that doubles his size and dragging him around on a blue polar bear toboggan doesn’t seem nearly as enticing. Nor does finding out first-hand why my wife seems so exhausted when I arrive home from work.
Wait a minute. I’m starting to sound like a bellyacher. I guess it happens to the best of us.
So I’ll end on a positive note.
I’m truly looking forward to my one-on-one time with one of the great joys in my life. I can’t wait for more two-tooth grins, his attempts at pronouncing “kitty” and those arched-back diaper changes.
