I’ve been thinking a lot lately about what a big commitment it is to have a baby. The number one thing that comes to mind is the issue of time.

Having children and getting married are both huge commitments, so I’ll compare the two. Getting married is huge because it’s the end of your independence. You can no longer do whatever the heck you feel like doing, but instead must always consider your spouse in day to day things. In some ways it can actually save you time. While your awesome wife makes you a sandwich (that’s for all the feminists) you can do something else.

But having a kid is quite different. I only know up through age two, but the time it takes just to feed, bathe, dress, punish, clean, chase, drop of at daycare, take on walks, and put to bed is amazing. I think most people only consider their personal maturity, and whether or not they’re ready to shape a young mind. All important things to consider, but for one main reason, I think the time issue might be the most important.

Now let me come back to marriage for a moment. I believe the number one cause of failure in marriages is selfishness. You don’t show your spouse how much you love them by what you buy them or what you say, but by what you do. If you’re selfless, then you do things like take out the trash, get water for your wife, let her pick the show to watch, and in general do things to make her happy (not necessarily yourself). If you’re selfish, you look out for yourself, and sometimes to the detriment of your spouse (and ultimately the marriage).

So back to babies. The time issue is so important, because kids require so much of it! If you are selfish with your time, then you aren’t being the loving parent that you should be, and I can see this being another reason marriages fail. In an instant, the amount of time you have to yourself is slashed, and it ain’t coming back for the foreseeable future. If you’re selfless, you give that time up. If you’re selfish, you leave. When people say they feel suffocated, what they really mean is they’re selfish.

I think society in general romanticizes love SO much, we’re told that our feelings should trump all else. That feeling of being in love is great, but that’s not actually love. Love is doing anything and everything for someone else, and whether you’re doing it for a spouse, child, friend, or family member, it means there will be less time for yourself. That’s something I think all potential spouses and parents should consider.

I hate to immediately replace my last post, but I had to share this.

During our Prop 8 discussion we had a lengthy debate about what effect (if any) legal gay marriage would have on those that disagree with same-sex relationships. Some argued that it would have no effect on anyone, and that it was wrong to discriminate against them. I argued that gay marriage was really about raising same-sex relationships to the same level as straight relationships in every sense. We had some discussions about what would happen if private companies or churches refused to accept or service same-sex relationships. Some people told me I was crazy, and that no one would be forced to accept gay couples.

This isn’t directly related to Prop 8 (not to mention it passed), but this is a clear example of how the gay “rights” movement is about MUCH more than just two gay people wanting to get married. The online dating site eHarmony is being forced to change their business to include same-sex matchmaking because a gay man sued them. He wanted to find a gay mate, eHarmony did not want to provide that service, but after constant litigation, eHarmony finally folded.

This is probably only the beginning. The umbrella of “discrimination” can have far reaching implications, and don’t be surprised when it stretches into the private and religious sectors.

Sarah Palin’s 17 year old daughter is five months pregnant. My initial reaction is that it’s unfortunate. I’m sure that wasn’t what her parents wanted for her. As a very new parent there are definitely things I want for my son, but I know I won’t always be able to control him. Will he make mistakes? Most certainly, and hopefully Bristol Palin considers what she did a mistake.

That being said, does that make Sarah Palin a bad parent? I wouldn’t say it does. There are a lot of people in life that make mistakes, including people that read this blog. They’re not perfect, and neither are people running for office. I think it’s great how their values are guiding what comes next. Many people would have already aborted the baby, but instead they will have a chance at life. Bristol Palin is engaged to the father, and hopefully they will have a successful and loving marriage.

Summer is off to a nice start. The dog is laying in the backyard sunbathing right now. She’s a weirdo.

Played a game of baseball online this morning. Went down early 2-0 against the Devil Rays of all teams, but had a couple nice innings and won 4-2, raising my record online to 10-4. Last night Angelo helped me fine tune my network setup and change my dsl router to a “bridge,” which should simplify things. But that’s nerdy mumbo jumbo you don’t care about.

We’re going camping this weekend at San Onofre which should be fun. I haven’t been to the beach in forever, and it will be nice to go “away,” even if it’s only for a short time.

Andrew and Sarah are well on their way of making Denise and Paul’s condo into their own. They’ve done some painting and moved in furniture. It’s great to see them start their new life together. I have a much greater appreciation than I used to for weddings and marriage, now that I’m married. You know what the people are getting themselves into and what a special time that is in their life.

We started to watch the season of ER that finished a month or so ago. We didn’t watch it all during the year, but instead saved it for summer viewing. It’s a well done show, but the liberal nonsense is unbelievably annoying. Here are the recurring liberal story lines:

1) Huge numbers of people are gay, and they don’t act anything like gay people do in real life. Gaydar need not apply, because you could never guess, because the show wants you to think gay people are just like straight people, but gay. Oh wait, that’s not all, gay people are actually more with it than the straight people. The gay relationships are always great, and the straight people are screwed up.

2) Everyone is dying in Iraq. Last year a main character got killed in Iraq, and this year there was a family whose father had died in Iraq. They wouldn’t want to have a character that came back from Iraq alive and emphasize the good they were doing. No, Iraq is the devil and everyone is dying.

3) National healthcare mumbo jumbo! The ER is always full and nobody has health insurance on the show. The characters are always screaming about how we need a national healthcare plan. What BS. Where are the illegal aliens in the ER? Oh that’s right, they never show any.

Sorry for that diversion from my summer, I apologize.

I’m off to start Act 2 of the book. Act 1 clocked in at around 20k words, or somewhere around 45-50 pages in a real book. It’s sitting on Stacie’s desk waiting for a read through. It’s amazing how much time it takes to get a story going and established. I’m looking forward to what comes next. It should get exciting.

Have you seen the Ikea commercial that questions the use of a sofa? It should come in fun colors, and be used for more than just sitting. What seems like a fine commercial takes a sad and almost subliminal turn at the end. As scenes of different people sitting on couches flash by, the voice-over asks "Why can’t couches come in different flavors, just like families?" With that line a family flashes on the screen for about one second, max. If you’re not quick, you almost don’t see it.

Sitting on the floor in front of the couch is a daughter, a golden retriever, and two men. I replayed it for Stacie, and she didn’t see it the first time. One of the men has longer and curly hair, and if you’re not paying attention he looks like a woman. But no, this family that Ikea insists comes in different "flavors" is a gay family.

I think Ikea’s furniture is cheap to begin with, but I will now make a concerted effort to not shop there. I don’t need their values as a corporation shoved at me during a national television commercial. I’m a little late to the party, and see it mentioned here with a picture. If you’re dying to be annoyed just read through some of the comments.

Would any of my liberal Christian friends that belong to liberal political parties, that support gay marriage, like to make a comment about how gay families are just as good as straight families?

Big congratulations to Kevin and Christie for officially agreeing to tie the knot! You can see a picture and get ready to check their progress over at their website.

You guys are great together, and I know your marriage will be a happy one. Stacie and I are really happy for both of you. After all, it would be kind of weird if we were only happy for one of you. Is that even possible, to only be happy for one person getting engaged? I don’t know, but I’m very confident we’re happy for both of you.

Take a look. A man that underwent a sex change operation is back substitute teaching for elementary students as a "woman." I could harp on the fact that he’s being called a woman when he’s not. The article says he was married for 33 years with three kids, so I assume he ruined that marriage. Instead I will focus on what really matters: the students.

A complaint given by a parent was "I, as a parent, am appalled to have this issue brought into my child’s psychology." He couldn’t be more right. How do you explain to a 6 year old that Mr. McBeth decided to have his weiner cut off, and now he is Miss McBeth? Crazy liberals would argue that you do it with love, and that children should be raised with an open-mind. A logical conservative would say, "You don’t!" A child should’nt even know about this, let alone be taught by him.

The ACLU and crazy leftists constantly shout acceptance and tolerance for everything, and it’s getting old. When did cutting your weiner off become acceptable? Am I the only on that thinks this guy is INSANE? The fact that he paid someone to cut his weiner off makes him totally unqualified to teach, or even be in the same room as children. But the ACLU will go to court and tell us that this man is not deranged or mentally unstable, he’s just "different."

If you are offended by my repeated use of the word "wiener," I would be glad to change them all to "sausage."

Heads up to Tim for the good Blarg fodder.