7 years later I am still kicking it down here in Costa Rica. My hair has started turning grey and my surfing hasn't really progressed. My quest for virtue also got sidetracked as I grew tired of complaining about the injustices in every day life. On the other hand, I got married, I had a daughter and life seems so much more settled as the big 40 approaches.
What have I learned about having a kid? Well, I have learned that this is the reason most people still live with or near their immediate family. Sadly, it is not the case for me. My daughter, I love her to death, could easily drain the same amount of energy out of me as if I ran a marathon. So imagine running one every day. This is why every member in my family needs to pack up their shit and move to Costa Rica. I need a place to drop her off when I am beat. My wife works full time so I split parenting duties with her and a local nanny. The nanny gives us peace of mind and time to do things for ourselves like surfing and surfing (not really much else to do beside drinking and I have learned to do that while parenting). I would like to feel as though I have accomplished many thing during fatherhood of which I will list at the end of this blog.
I always envisioned my kid being really different and raised in a different way. I guess to some degree we do that but how full of shit was I to think that my parenting would be any different than anyone else. It is funny the stuff you say when you are single. It is also funny the stuff you say when you are married. I have learned not to say anything until you are married and with a kid. Not until then will you understand how full of crap you really are.
The only reason I am writing in this blog is because I googled my name, thinking the results might actually be cool and accidentally stumbled upon it. It was after reading every post that I saw myself as a different person and I am. "Soy Padre!"(I am a father)
The things I taught my daughter and a few she learned on her own:
1. How to fart and say "Toot Toot Pazita"
2. How to play air drums and air guitar.
3. How to chew with her mouth open
4. How to slap the shit out of the Talking Tom Cat (relax, it's an application on the phone)
5. How to program and hack an iPhone or any other device (actually, kids learn this on their own)
6. How to scream like bloody murder when she doesn't get her way
7. How to piss on my bed instead of the toilet.
All in all life is good and even better with a kid. My daughter's name is Paz Del Mar. It means peace from the sea and she is the apple of my eye (or at least until she pokes it out)
