Any Normal Person (updated)
Any normal person wouldn’t be sitting at a computer while his wife struggles to find comfort on the couch in her final hours of pregnancy. Any normal person would have taken a couple of weeks off. Any normal person would keep the personal personal. Any normal person would keep a cycling blog strictly about cycling.
But as has been observed ’round these parts, I’m not any normal person.
Any normal person would admit they’re overwhelmed and at least this much I can claim to share with other, more normal, folks. I’m definitely overwhelmed.
My plan for this week, at least what I scheduled several months ago, was to ride and post in the early part of the week then climb on a flight for Denver. I was to serve as the chief judge for the North American Handmade Bicycle Show. After the show I was to return home and then a week or two later my wife was likely to give birth to our second child.
All that changed Monday. An ultrasound was performed that revealed a problem with our baby. It might not turn out to be a big deal, but it could turn out to be an indicator of a profound disability. The doctors scheduled her labor to be induced Thursday night with an anticipated delivery on Friday, when all the specialists would be easily at hand.
I’ve been working on four different posts and can’t bring a single one of them in the barn. I can’t concentrate. And I won’t be at NAHBS, though we’ve made provisions for me to assist the judges remotely.
Like I said, any normal person would take a few weeks off. However, we’re a tiny operation and our advertisers pay for us to deliver eyeballs. And I write roughly half our content. There may come a day when I can take a vacation or even a sabbatical, but right now, we’ve doing nothing so much as failing to deliver on our promise of at least five posts per week.
I’ll post as I’m able. Writing is how I process my world and without writing, I don’t understand much. And I respect that, even with writing, this may come to an outcome I simply won’t understand.
I’m reminded of what a friend once noted prior to a team time trial: “There will be chaos. Keep pedaling.”
Update: Respecting Padraig’s family privacy, I will just say to all well-wishers that a baby boy was born. Father, mother and child are tired.
Haven’t posted much at all here, but I look forward to checking the blog every day. It’s one of the highlights of my day. And I have to say that I love my several RKP Panache bib shorts. Panache does it right.
I’m also a parent of a child with special needs. While the issues are not as severe as many others deal with, they are more than we would have desired for ourselves or our daughter. But we always desire only the best for our kids, right? Even years later, while I am sometimes frustrated that my child has to continually deal with these issues for a lifetime, she and our whole family have learned valuable and important things that we simply would not have learned had things gone completely as desired. Would I remove my child’s disabilities if I could? Yes, I admit I would. But not at the expense of the character and wisdom that we all have gained as a result of these disabilities. Like all of us, we just do the best we can do.
All the best to you and your family, Padraig.
Thanks everyone. We aren’t quite there yet, but we are close and everything is going well. I’m guessing two, three hours, tops.
Thanks for the update. I’ve been thinking about your family all day.
We are thinking if you and the family!
The anticipation is killing me, any news? I can’t think about a bike ride at a time like this.
We’re all pulling for you!
-Another Patrick
@All – As noted above. A baby boy.
Congrats and best wishes.
Congratulations! Hoping he’s healthy and out of the NICU soon. Please keep us posted on his name!