Tuesday, April 19, 2011

A Little Brother

When I was a kid, there was one thing I consistently wanted for Christmas year after year: A little brother. I remember as a kid thinking that kids don’t cost any money (you just have to feed and clothe them). So I couldn’t for the life of me figure out why my parents wouldn’t just get me a little brother. How difficult could it be?

Today, on the eve of my wife delivering our first son, I now think first of money when I consider what it takes to have a kid. I’ve also come to understand why my parents never gave me that little brother I always asked for: They stopped loving each other. I’m kidding, I’m kidding—I know why they stopped having kids, and it was for legitimate reasons.

However, one thing that hasn’t yet changed during my life is my insatiable desire to have a little brother. So it goes without saying that I am excited to welcome a baby boy into my home. But alas, with the much anticipated package, I am struggling to come to grips that our new addition will have an owner’s manual of sorts.

First, he is not a little brother. As much as I may try to subconsciously (and consciously) live out my dreams of having a little brother with my son, I will still have to be the dad. The far-too-often-having-to-discipline dad. Yuck. Such is the daunting task of parenthood.

Second, it will be quite some time before I can do “brother” stuff with my son. Even though I know it’s irrational, I have visions of heading straight from the hospital to our backyard to play catch with our baby boy. That’s of course irrational because there is no such thing as newborn baseball mitts. At least ones that are any good. So, I will have to exercise some patience for these next few months and years. (In the meantime, I will pray that my adorable daughter develops a love of sports, and that her habit of yelling “touchdown!” when I am watching basketball—or soccer, or baseball—is more an indication of her humor than her sports aversion.)

Third (and perhaps most importantly), I must accept my son for who he is, and not for who I want him to be. The chances that I hit the “He likes all the things that I do!” lottery are slim, and I need to come to grips with that. He may not love all the sports teams I do, and he may not like the same music as me, or laugh at the same jokes that I do, but that doesn’t mean I can’t love him completely. (But still, I really hope I win that lottery.)

Our son’s name is going to be “Jameson Brent.” Jameson because he is the descendent of a long line of James’s. And Brent after my next-door neighbor who was killed in a car accident fifteen years ago. When I was in elementary school, I used to go to Brent’s house virtually every day after school to play basketball (or baseball, or football). And while there were plenty of days he could’ve (and probably would have liked to have) told me no, he virtually never did.

I guess what I am saying in a roundabout way is that I want to be the type of older brother Brent was, and the type of dad he would have been. So to you, the unknown people of the internet, I say this: I cannot wait to finally get a “little brother.” And to my son, Jameson Brent, I say this: Can you come out and play?

7 comments:

  1. Dreams can come true! I got everything I ever wanted in a daughter in Chloe & I wish for you the same thing with Jameson. Good luck Tara!

    ReplyDelete
  2. For your sake, I hope he is all boy, athletic, and funny. For my sake, I hope he is calm and gentle... I guess we'll see what happens!

    I love you, Bry. You're going to be an amazing dad.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Bryson, please don't stop writing. You definitely have a gift. I'm excited as well for Jameson, my first grandson after all. I proud of both you and Tara. You are excellent parents, already better than I ever was. I hope that pattern keeps going forward. May God bless you all in the day(s) ahead and always.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Well-written :) and by the way you are the luckiest man alive because your wife ROCKS! She is the coolest chick I have ever met!

    ReplyDelete
  5. This is a treasurable piece and I agree with mum (regarding you and writing). By the way, how is it you are not on Twitter? (Or are you?)

    I for one am ready for a nephew. You want him in sports, does that include interpretive dance?

    ReplyDelete
  6. You will be an awesome Dad, like your Father was to you. I am excited to finally meet Jameson. Sorry about no little brother, but I did give you two wonderful big brothers. You will begin a new and exciting adventure. You also get to learn a new manual because the one for Sophie Lyn will not work for Jameson. Enjoy the journey. Love you baby boy. Love mom

    ReplyDelete
  7. You both are going to be amazing parents to that little boy! He is lucky to have you! Best of luck tomorrow Tara I hope everything goes smoothly and Bryson I hope he gets here wearing a newborn baseball glove ;)

    ReplyDelete