Sushi-grade Joy and Newborn Parenting

This was excerpted from an email to an old friend who is expecting his first baby in a month.

Dude, this baby-raising this is just a massive adventure.  It's nowhere near the hell I was expecting.  So much of it feels good -- it is true that having the time to do the dishes becomes a luxury, but it literally feels like a luxury -- not at all like the drudgery it once was.  That's the misunderstanding I had, that even parental luxury is a single person's drudgery, but really it's just that sushi-grade relaxation and happiness is suddenly absolutely free and a lot easier to come by.  Waking up refreshed with energy would no doubt generate sushi-grade joy for me at the moment.

I don't think I'm doing a very good job explaining this, but the coolest part is that it's a very satisfying adventure, and it feels to me very much like living in a country where I don't speak the language -- which I've always loved.  The learning curve is insane, but most of it is very, very low-stress.  Like writing a dissertation if it cried when you ignored it but then smiled at you with gorgeous crystalline eyes after you finished two pages.

:o)
-finn-
p.s. Hey, I'm going to use this on her blog.  Brian's using a bottle of breastmilk to put her down for a nap right now, for the first time while I'm home, which is utterly awesome.  You're going to be a kick-ass Dad, and birth really brought Brian and me closer.