Words of Wisdom

Gather 'round youngsters, it's time for some Words of Wisdom from Dom. Now I know there are probably a few of you out there who are reading this and are saying to yourselves, "I know Dom, there are no Words of Wisdom this guy can offer" or "What kind of Wisdom can a 23 year old young man who has lived in the Suburbs most of his life give me?" If that's your attitude, stop reading. But if you have ever heard people talk about Wisdom Nuggets, they tell you to take it from someone who has been there before, and for this particular piece of Wisdom I am preparing for you, I have been there before. This past weekend. In Mid-March. In October. I have been there more than a few times. So here it is.

Proper Planning is necessary when having a kid. What kind of planning you ask? It's simple, timing. When deciding to have a kid (if it is planned in your case) you've got to realize timing is going to work one of two ways. For you or against you.

Do you remember watching October Playoff Baseball last year? Fall College football season? How about the first weekend of March Madness, were those games fun to watch? The Final Four games? Did you see the upsets that Memphis and Kansas dropped on UCLA and NC respectively, and completely ruined my chances at winning any of brackets. Lastly, did you have fun watching the draft this weekend, was it a good time? Well if I were to answer those questions it would go as such:

No, I was researching new places to live and trying to find a "ladies" Doctor for my wife to get her check-ups for our future bundlle of joy. Took 2 trips to visit my wive's parents and tell them about the kid so I missed 2 weekends worth of fun college football. March Madness was great, Thursday and Friday I watched on my computer at work, it was awesome and CBS did a great job, Thursday night I watched the UA game at the bar. What about Friday night and those Saturday and Sunday games? Nope didn't see that Arkansas vs. Indiana game on Friday night, I was driving to Yuma, AZ. Didn't see Duke lose to West Virginia, I was with my in-laws. Sunday? I was driving back to Tucson. I missed a good portion of the UCLA game at a baby shower at my folks house up in Phoenix. As for Rounds 1 and 2 of the Draft Saturday I was in Childbirth classes from 9-6.

I didn't have a choice in planning most of these ocurrances. When having a kid you need to realize that Baby Showers are going to happen (we had 3) and they are going to happen on weekends. Childbirth classes, weekend errands and baby shopping, these things happen, a lot, especially in the last 3 months. They happen when sports are on and you're going to miss them. What's the goal? Plan ahead. If you aren't a big baseball fan. Well aim for the last tri-mester to fall somewhere over the summer months so you won't miss football games. If you could care less about football, then maybe plan for the November/December/January time of year for the end of the pregnancy. Trust me, it's worth making the effort of planning to ensure that you don't miss the things you don't want to miss.

Take my advice, take it from someone who has been there before. If you are able to plan, this is the way to go. If necessary wait a couple more months to make sure that you don't miss the important sporting events of the year.