What’s Happenin’ for Papa Patterson?

2011 seems to be off to a decent start… We just finished celebrating our first daughter’s second birthday for the third time last night and I feel like we’re almost ready for the second daughter to make her grand entrance in May. I never thought I would have turned out to be the father of two beautiful little girls but I’ve embraced it wholeheartedly, going so far as to tell myself that girls are better than boys even. Sure I’ll have to one day face the sad moments that I’ve seen other fathers deal with, when they’re  finally allowed to go out on their first date after months of begging and sulking or even the bittersweet feelings that I’ll have to endure on the day of their weddings. I know that this experience is going to soften me, as every day comes and goes, these little angels are going to melt my heart a little more each day and by the time they give me the last kiss on the cheek before they run off to make their own lives, I’ll be a crying mushy puddle of a man and won’t know what to do with myself. Isn’t it amazing that children can do that to you? I’ve tried to express this to friends that don’t have them yet, only to find it impossible to put in words. It IS nice to finally understand what parents before me have meant by “you’ll understand when you have children of your own”…though I still think that’s a lousy excuse that is often abused as an “end all” statement to flex authoritative muscle. I’ll NEVER use it in that way, or will I?

MIA

Wow, how long it has been since I’ve typed into my blog! I committed myself to keeping this page updated but what can I say, I’m like most ambitious people in this world that start something with the full intention of following it through, only to shift to something new in the following week. That in itself is one fundamental thing that I have discovered about myself this year, my tastes tend to shift. From music to reading to hobbies, I’m constantly shifting, and I don’t know why. I love my hobbies, there are several that tend to repeat themselves, but I believe it’s because they don’t last longer than a couple months at a time. Specifically speaking, I’m referring to my hobby as a hunter, and my hobby as a gardener.

I go through many interests during the year, but hunting and gardening repeat themselves annually…but not for longer than a couple of months at a time. Right now my garden is overflowing with weeds but I’m tracking several deer and I’m way into it. In a few months, my garden will be immaculate but my guns and bow will be dirty and dry. Will I do this forever? How can I merit spending time, money, and effort on my interests, when I know they’re whimsical? I guess I’ll just have to make a note as to which ones keep coming back time and time again then officially make those ‘My Interests’ for that ever popular blank on every job application. I guess after-all that it is beneficial for a person to keep shifting into something new, it keeps us versed in other peoples’ potential priorities and constantly keeps us ‘well rounded’ and ready to spring at any moment into a conversation over common ground with the next potential acquaintance.