The TriDad Life

Dear Beanpod 2,

Well, this is something. 1 year, 10 months, and 14 days ago, I made my first post on this blog. I found new inspiration in my life when I found out that I was going to become a father, and I began using the blog as an outlet to express what I was seeing, what I was feeling in my life, and encapsulating those thoughts here in these notes to your sister. When I first started writing, we didn’t even know that your sister would be a girl – and we plan to wait til the very end with you, too. The only thing better than the surprise of a lifetime is to do it again!

Here we are now, 111 days out from your expected arrival. I assure you, I’ve been thinking about you, and I’m excited to pen this first ever note addressed to you directly. The truth is, and please let me explain, but it is so easy to forget that you are here amongst us, being formed, while there is so much going on in our lives. I don’t want you to feel shortchanged, but you must understand that things are so much different for us now than when I first started writing to your yet unborn sister.

One thing we enjoyed doing as we were waiting for your sister was use these numbered blocks I got off Amazon to countdown every day the days until her arrival. I was pretty diligent about that, and looked forward every morning to move the blocks back another day.

Now, I laugh thinking about what the heck goes on around here every morning. Some days, it feels like a miracle that we make it out the door with our heads still attached to our bodies. It is a constant “Who’s on first, what’s on second” situation. Even on the days when we really feel like we got it, there always seems to be a curveball.

What’s changed here, of course, is your sister. Your sister is driving us insane! Her nose runs all the time. She likes to walk into the pantry and demand everything in it, while then refusing to consume any of it. She convinces me what she wants is oatmeal, but after I make it, she just puts her fingers in it and only sometimes some of it makes it to her mouth.

If I were forced to use only three things to describe our life right now, those would would be “boogers, sleep deprived, and bubba.”

Last week, she came down with “hand, foot and mouth disease.” I honestly thought this was something only pirates got. That sure was a fun week.

So, yea, I’ll admit. I’m not moving the blocks as diligently for you as I did for your sister. But again, don’t take this as a slight. We’re getting ready for you. Every day with your sister is preparing us for you, and some days, I see the blocks and I use Google to cheat to tell me how long we’ve got so I can move them forward accordingly. If anything, what we’ve learned from your sister is that your Mom and I, we CAN do it. We’ll be ready for you, I promise. We’ve got a great team here, and you are going to have a massive role. You will make us better, there’s no doubt.

When you get here, I’ll be 37 years old. The tagline for this blog is “I am a new Dad, and I like to race in triathlons. This is my blog about trying to do both and enjoy life.” So far, despite everything going on in our lives, I’m still trying all that. Apart from the crazy mornings and the constant feeling of being a bit behind, I’m still finding some time to train. Your Mom and I are trying to find balance, together. Believe me, we don’t always get it right. I think what drives us fundamentally is our agreement that the most important job we have is raising you kids. This is an Olympic effort in and of itself, and it will last every day for us for the next several decades.

Part of our approach that bleeds into raising you kids, is that we want to push ourselves in life. One of those areas happens to be in fitness. Your mother is something of a herculean woman of antiquity. You may have noticed some strenuous activity over the last couple months as she’s gotten back into CrossFit since getting past the first trimester where you were causing her some significant discomfort, to put it mildly.

For your Dad, I’ve found my stride competing in triathlons. I’m a terrible swimmer, but getting better. This past weekend, I completed my fifth sprint triathlon in the last four years. This time was the Grand Rapids Triathlon, a lovely and well organized race that began on the shore of the Thornapple River and took us on a bike and run through Ada Park. Some of your most important team members were in attendance – your Mom and sister, along with your Grandma and Papa, Uncle Kent, Aunt Trish and Uncle Bill, and Gigi.

This is a big year for us, no doubt. We’re doubling down and adding you to the mix. And your Dad, he just can’t help himself. After four seasons of racing in sprint triathlons – typically a half mile swim, 12.4 mile bike, and a 5K run – I’m getting ready to “go for gold.” I signed up for the Olympic distance at the Chicago Triathlon in August, which will be double the distance of my previous races. We’re exactly T-minus 12 weeks out today, and training is about to get doubly fierce.

If I’m able to do it, I can tell you that as a new Dad, the most important factor will be team alignment. Your Mom and sister have been so supportive on this journey so far, and I’m doing my best to find the right balance between training, working, and being Dad. We’ll find out a lot in the next 12 weeks how I end up doing with that. (You’ll have to ask your Mom.)

So, my sweet little Beanpod 2, the long and short of it is – we’re busy out here. We like it that way. We’re looking forward to having you join us and are open to all the crazy and wild things you do to change up our formula. I really do believe you’ll bring out the best in me, in us.

This is our Olympic year.

Love,

Dad