"The Dad Blog"

Dear Baby,

Although I like to think of myself as the writer of the family, your father can certainly hold his own. In the early days of our relationship—in one of his endearing attempts to court me—he would write emails to your Grandmother and Grandfather Leavitt with pictures and commentary about what the two of us were up to. These emails were highly entertaining, well written, and witty. I still have them because I keep everything and perhaps I will show them to you if you ask nicely. Anyway, I know your grandparents loved getting them and reading them.

Now that we’re married, your father seems to think this sort of thing can stop. I have been encouraging him to write one of these letters to you detailing his side of the story ever since I started writing my own. He keeps saying that he will, and if I have anything to do with it, trust me, he WILL. Your mother is an extremely persistent person. It’s one of my most prominent attributes (something I’m sure you will come to find annoying later in life, until much later in life when you will then appreciate it).

Anyway, Grandma Tracy (or whatever you are calling her) jumped on the wagon trying to get your father to write his version of your story. She did so by sending him a message over our group text.

Again, I’m sure by the time you read this there will be something new, but for now we have this means of communication called “group text,” and one of the ongoing chats that I have is between me, your father, Grandma Tracy, Uncle Eli, and Uncle Ben. Grandpa Steve does not partake as he is not quite so technologically advanced as the rest of us (although he says he “texts,” what he really means is he emails).

I thought I would share with you a clip from this group text as it is one of the more amusing ones and properly conveys the kind of environment that you’re about to come into. I already gave you a bit of backstory about the “Dad Blog” (or lack thereof), but I should also mention one other piece of context before you read it. Well before you even existed, I planned a trip to Denver to visit Uncle Ben. Your father was not going to come on this trip because we planned to tear up the ski slopes and your father isn’t quite so daring in this department. Uncle Ben and I were going to hit all the double black diamonds, and finish off with some Colorado microbrews. Well, when we found out about you, plans changed slightly. Of course the trip was still on, but the black diamonds turned to bunny slopes, and the microbrews turned to Uncle Ben having microbrews while your mother served as his D.D.

All of that being said, here is our exchange:

So there you have it. That’s what you’re about to get yourself into. Trust me, the Cicala side is just as intense, and I promise you that you will never have a dull moment in your entire life (although not all moments are positive, they certainly cannot be described as dull). We can also be a bit profane. I will try to keep you away from that, but your father tells me I am not very good at censoring myself in front of kids. As long as it’s not your first word I think I’ll be okay with it.

More on the Cicalas later. Trust me, I have many good stories about them. AND… don’t think that your father is going to get away with that snarky text being his “Dad Blog.” I will continue to eat away at him, and I would appreciate it if my readership does the same.

Love,

Mom

P.S. Also, I will gladly accept letters from anyone else who wants to write to the baby, and I will certainly include them in the baby book. Bart, I know you have something brewing. Marielle, it would be a crime for you not to use your talent to write something. Ben, come on, I know you’ve got something clever to say. TONY… get to work!