My heirs

Edit 2009 Oct 01: Corrected some small errors in the text that had slipped through in my haste to post this before the laptop's batteries ran out.

Those of you who were waiting for a picture of Hanna pregnant at 34 weeks will be disappointed; we didn't take photos this week. You'll have to make do with photos of Duncan and Tristan instead:

Many family and friends have called, emailed, or otherwise contacted us with congratulations, praise, and general excitement; all the technology I carry that is usually employed for managing business or working for clients has been almost entirely devoted to spreading word of my heirs' arrival. Many people have also wanted to know the details -- my sons' initial stats, if you will. For those interested, they are:

• Duncan Michael: born 2:55 PM, 4 pounds 15 ounces, 18 inches
• Tristan Wesley: born 2:56 PM, 4 pounds 11 ounces, 18 inches

Since the boys were born early, they are residing in the neonatal intensive care unit for now; despite the many hoses and wires connecting them to various monitors and medical devices, they are doing extremely well, and are happy and healthy. Hanna is currently recovering well from the surgery; she's already up and walking a bit, and is healing rapidly.

The event itself was unusual in its speed. Hanna had been suffering with increasingly painful contractions over the weekend, and we finally decided to go to the hospital to make sure everything was still ok. While she was there, the pain started increasing, and after a brief discussion with the on-call doctor it became clear that the babies needed to be delivered that day. It was surreal, actually; to me it seemed like one minute we were thinking it was just a quick trip to the hospital to be reassured that Hanna was still ok, and the next Hanna was halfway through a C-section and we were being shown our new sons.

It seems strange to me that the arrival of children doesn't have rituals surrounding it, in the same manner of many other life experiences. Weddings, funerals, graduations, even tests in Taekwon-Do are filled with formalities to be observed, ceremonies to be performed, traditions to be followed. In contrast -- at least in our culture -- becoming a parent just seems to happen without much note. There are some customs, of course: the toasts to "wet the baby's head" for example, or new fathers sharing cigars in celebration. But compared to the many rituals around getting married or the rigid formality of testing for my current rank in Taekwon-Do, becoming a father had no pageantry involved.

On further reflection, however, perhaps that is for the best; perhaps I should not think of fatherhood as much an event to be marked, but rather a natural extension of our family, and of Life itself. While I am sure that there will be plenty of celebration in the days to come, this is not just an occasion, but the beginning of a grand, grand adventure.