"Having a baby is like trying to push a grand piano through a transom." - Alice Roosevelt Longworth

They now have a doggy door.

That quote up there seems appropriate for today's post because it was on this day in 1975 that Pam gave birth to our firstborn, a son who weighed in at 10 lbs., 5 ozs. and 24" long. You know how everybody oohs and aahs over tiny newborns? When your brand new baby is the size of a toddler it's more, "oh my" and "goodness!"

They issued flood warnings for some of the rivers in the Eugene area, which is remarkable in a place that normally gets a lot of rain. Our creek just keeps rising, and down the hill where the many area creeks come together it's something to see. Open fields look like lakes, parking lots are under water, and roadside ditches are full.

President Trump said Trump Tower was hacked by President Obama during the campaign. I have NO idea whether that accusation has any merit but many in D.C. consider it so outlandish as to be almost treason.
Wikileaks released a trove of stolen CIA documents that show that govt. agency has been hacking everything from iPhones to Samsung TV's, secretly recording conversations, including those of American citizens. So far the reaction has been more condemnation of Julian Assange than of Foggy Bottom.
What surprises me is that no one has suggested the two dots might be connected.
Not saying they are, just noting that they have at least a theoretical connection.

Speaking of hacking, The Today Show had another segment on how hackers can penetrate everything from refridgerators to cars now that we've entered the age of the internet of things. The story focused on cars and how a hacker can completely take over a vehicle while it's going down the road, and how simple it is to break into a drive away with a car using a device readily available on the internet. Walk up the the car and hold this cigarette pack-sized device next to the door and it unlocks. Then hold it next to the keyless ignition button and start the car.
"If you receive a software update from your car's manufacturer install it immediately!"
Or drive old cars that use archaic things like keys.

I've been doing some reminiscing the last few days. Both our sons were born in early March (the 9th and the 11th) so I've been thinking about what our life was like in those days. And then Tuesday night at dinner we sat quietly and listened to the other four couples, all with young children, talk about their lives and parenting challenges. Oh my.

Is the difference between our experience as young parents and what we heard Tuesday evening a result of changes in culture over the last 35-40 years or the difference between our situation and theirs? We were dirt poor because I was in ministry serving small churches while our small group is made up of young professionals with significant incomes.

The moms talked about getting away by themselves to a hotel room just for an overnight escape from the chaos of daily life. We talked on the way home and can only remember staying in a motel once, shortly after Steve was born and we were driving up to Seattle so my folks could see their new grandchild. We got the cheapest room we could find and put Steve down for the night in the bottom dresser drawer because we didn't have/couldn't afford any kind of travel crib. (We did leave the drawer open.) If we did "dinner out" it was Burger King and our yearly vacation was tent camping in Oregon state parks at $5 a night. Lunch was pepperoni slices and cheese on Ritz crackers with an apple or banana...if you'd been good. Dinty Moore stew heated over a camping stove for dinner.

If I could go back and change it I. Would. Not.
There's nothing wrong with having the money to vacay in Florida, or Hawaii, or Mexico, but there are some things you can only learn by being poor. Like finding joy in simple things and making your own recreation. If you can afford to eat out you're not going to give thanks for a #10 can of ready made stew. (We had other dinners, too. That's just what we remembered and laughed about.) If we could afford a motel room with soft beds and a flat screen TV next door to a theme park would we have pitched tents in some of the most beautiful parks along the west coast? Probably not.

So is it the difference of economics, or does anybody still live like we did? Or is it, go big or stay home? Most of our friends back in the day were just like us though they had more money. I dunno. But we agreed there was no point trying to explain our lives as young parents to this group. No way they could understand.