I had a pretty rough weekend. No major catastrophes, but a grab bag of little annoyances, especially on my “day off.” That day, I popped an inner tube on my bike, which made me late for the movie I wanted to see and then, while in the movie, I got pinkeye. My swollen conjunctiva made the parade of biological offenses in my chosen film, District 9, all the more immediate.

All that, of course, made me about as fun to be around as Ben Stein at a Darwinist convention. So, I ruined my wife’s day, too. Yay me.

Today, I woke with a new perspective and, to quote the Pointer Sisters, a new attitude. I’m more engaged, more laid back, more… dad-like. Just to prove it’s working, Boone blew his morning nap today. Did I curse? Did I shut down? Did I leap for the nearest bottle of rye? No, no and no. And with a little work, I even got him to shut his eyes for a bit. Take that, defeat!

And today the boys are 9 months old. Now, they have officially spent more time outside the womb than inside. Now if they’d only get a job.