Welcome (To what? And why?)

So I'm blogging my life as a father now.

This strikes me right off as a warped combination of megalomania, voyeurism and boredom. As for the first, you'll have to be the judge. The voyeurism will actually depend on what you, the reader, bring to the reading. And boredom? Please visit our home sometime (life and health insurance required, AD&D strongly advised) and decide how bored we are.

OK, guilty misgivings aside (or only begun?), let me welcome you to this public private space and share my vision for the thing. Why a blog on my daily experience of daddyhood? Here are my Six Selfish Reasons:

1. I live better with accountability; daily posts to the Web may help me be a more intentional daddy.
2. Sometimes the best me surfaces when I am sharing in a group instead of just left to my own devices.
3. Committing to a year of daily journaling (5 posts a week) will help me reflect on and, by grace, learn from my goofs--which are legion.
4. This is good writing practice.
5. If, aided by your candid comments, enough decent stuff shows up, maybe some will get published beyond the blogosphere.
6. This is an excuse to play on the computer that my wife thinks is kind of sweet.

And maybe, as a side effect, my ranting, panting and praying here will help you as a [future] parent feel less lonely on the journey. Maybe together we'll even come out a notch or two more enlightened. No promises, but it is a possibility.

Here is what I will promise not to do in this site:

1. Preach. Heaven knows I'm a common seaman, not a captain (Contrary to La Bamba's songwriter, Yo sí soy marinero, no soy capitán, no soy capitán.) Please don't let my use of sacred texts or other quotes scare you off; when they show up, it's because that string of words is the life ring keeping me afloat, or the dive belt taking me to the right depth.
   
2. Tell all. This will be intimate, but within limits. For your sake and my family's, I will self-censor to a degree.
3. Go on forever. With rare exception, posts will be brief and will spare you the newsy details. Again, for the sake of both family and readers, I'm committed to pounds of fathering for every ounce of father-blogging.

Which reminds me, I've gone on too long.

It's time to dance with my girls.