I'm feeling unusually unsmart today. I think it may have something to do with the recent lack of sleep that has been part of my life. To shed light on this phenomenon, I think that it should be duly noted that my lovely wife gave birth to our second son this week. There is nothing like a newborn in the family to shake things up. Some common side effects of having a new baby are:
-Lack of sleep (as previously described). I don't feel terribly bad for myself, though, as my wife has a greater number of shifts on the job than I do, so she is running on fewer hours than I. I would gladly take over some of her shifts to let her rest, but I'm not correctly equipped for the job, as it were.
-Increase in cute factor. Let's face it, nothing but a baby can elicit the overwhelming volume of "Oohs", "Aahs", and other inane babble. Actually, I can think of two exceptions to that rule: extreme drunkenness and massive head trauma.
-Increase in random visitors. Not that I don't mind the ones bringing food or gifts (none of which, by the way, are addressed to me), but there seems to be an increase in unsmartness pertaining to the proper scheduling of visits, including arrival and departure times. You need an air traffic controller outside your hospital room to make sure there are no fiery wrecks. And this at a time when baby has just been squeezed through a small hole, then poked, prodded and measured for days; and mother has just done the squeezing along with all its undesirable aftermath and is trying (futilely, it seems) to recover. This increase in unsmartness seems to be directly proportional to the undesirability of the visitor.
-Decrease in food storage space. This is especially common in areas with high concentrations of Mormons, particularly adult females. Not that I mind; I'm just not sure where to put it all. Most at risk is freezer space, which is generally lower in cubic footage that other types of food storage (like, say, stuff you can throw in the basement). Luckily, there hasn't yet arrived the influx of ham and funeral potatoes (more on the name at another time) than is usually expected.
There are other side effects of baby arrival, however, I'm falling asleep as I type (it's 1pm). Needless to say, newborn arrival is directly connected to increases in unsmartness for all involved.
