I have a friend in Chicago who used to to tell me that I was more ‘Opie’ than I knew. I had a vague idea what he was talking about–not so much the reference–but the point.

I , of course, took offense. I also disagreed with him.

I have tattoo’s. Dammit. They were painful and expensive. Don’t tell me that I’m going to end up in the suburbs married with children.

Well, he was mostly right. I was fortunate enough to meet the greatest and bestest person I have ever been with. And we had kids. And maybe we’ll have more. But I don’t live in the suburbs–not that there is anything wrong with the suburbs. Instead, we live on a quasi rural quasi ‘burb island in the Puget Sound.

Often, it seems that others can often see us better than we see ourselves. Which is the reason I started writing the poppa. Shortly after son was born (three days later) I found myself inexorably drawn to write about my experience as a new, new father. When our daughter was born, there was no way I could have found time to write. But somehow, after two kids, I was able to stay up late into the eventing, blathering on about my experiences.

These posts are an opportunity for me to share my experience as a father and to hear other experiences as well. Feel free to comment as will, or drop me a personal note.

You may leave a comment on this site or contact me at: lawrence[dot]matthew[dot] j [at] gmail [dot]com