Virtual Time Capsule from a Grandpa-To-Be

I received some exciting news this week.  My oldest daughter, Natalie, is expecting her first baby sometime in late April or early May.  I immediately wanted to add a blog post that captures my initial reactions, but I made myself sit and think for a few days about what I really wanted to say.

My conclusion was that this message is REALLY intended for my grandchild-to-be.  That's a pretty high ambition for a blog post.  I think the chances that this message will be around when he/she is old enough to read and understand it are pretty low.  But I'm going to do my best to maintain these posts and keep this one around, if no others.  So what message will be relevant?  Will it be several free-form paragraphs of my thoughts?  I'm thinking that a more interesting message would be a snapshot of my life when I found out that I was going to be a grandpa for the first time.

So here is a somewhat disorganized list of things that I would like to share about myself.  I'm guessing that my grandchild will read this here in a dozen years or so and think "Dang grandpa was really living in the stone ages" .

Measurements/Stats:

• 6'0"
• 185lbs
• Green Eyes
• Brown Hair (there are about a half dozen grays, I thought I plucked those out!)

Favorites:

• Car: 2010 Camaro (the Nissan GT-R is a close second)
• Food: Steak
• Drink: Iced Tea, Unsweet, with a TON of Sweet-n-Low
• Web Browser: Firefox, but Google Chrome might replace it soon
• Game: Modern Warefare 2 (XBOX 360)
• Movie: Fight Club
• TV Show: Arrested Development, or maybe True Blood
• Song: Bad Company by Five Finger Death Punch
• Computer Program: Photoshop CS5
• Social Networking Website: Facebook
• iPhone App: Words with Friends
• Dirty Work: Mowing the Yard
• Comedian: Dane Cook
• Store: eBay or Amazon

I Couldn't Live Without:

• Internet
• Cars
• My Sea-Doo
• Text Messaging
• The Gym
• Netflix
• My Family

My Things:

• Phone: iPhone 3g 16gb
• Vehicles:
  • 2009 Honda Civic
  • 2006 Chevy Cobalt
  • 1997 Dodge Dakota
  • 1992 Chevy Camaro
  • 2005 Sea-Doo RXT
• Laptop: HP Pavilion, Windows 7 64bit, 4gb ram, 320gb hard drive
• TV: 50" Samsung LED DLP
• Digital Camera: Grrrrr.  I just use my iPhone for now.
• Game Console: XBOX 360 Elite, 120gb
• Website: http://www.muggster.com
• Home: 1617 Wildwood Dr.
• Dogs:
  • Frankie, Chihuahua
  • Pepper, Chihuahua
  • Punkin, Boston Terrier Mix
• Cat: Sasha, Siamese
• Job: Web Designer/Developer, Interworks, Inc.

Ambitions:

• Paint/Draw a self portrait
• Paint/Draw portraits as a side job
• Learn to play the guitar
• Build a cool tree house
• Buy a "project car"
• Organize my 20 year high school reunion
• Win the lottery

Activities that I look forward to doing with my new Grandchild:

• Riding the Sea-Doo at the lake
• Going to the zoo
• Camping
• Fishing trips at Texoma
• Going to Disney World
• Building a tree house

Traits that I would like to pass on to my new Grandchild:

• My artistic talent (this came from my Grandpa Willy)
• My sense of humor (this is a good combination of Grandpa Willy and Grandpa Pete)
• My sense of reasoning/logic (also a combination)
• My magic touch with computers. It's true, all I hafta do is walk in the room and they start working.  They fear me. (this came from my Grandpa Willy)

I'm excited, scared, nervous, and proud all at the same time.  I'm excited about the opportunity to pass some of the best things about myself on to a new generation.  I'm scared for the long and trying road in front of my daughter in motherhood.  I know I certainly didn't walk that road perfectly, but I did my best.  I have no doubt that Natalie will be at least as good of a parent as I was.  I'm nervous that I might be a disappointment to my new grandchild.  It's easy to sit and dream, but the days will roll by quickly and the opportunities will be few and far between.  I need to keep my eyes open for those opportunities and take advantage of every single one.  And mostly I'm proud of my daughter.  She has grown up into a lovely young woman faster than I could have imagined.  Having a child adds SO much to a person's character.  I just hope I can be there to help her through the more difficult times.  And I can't wait to spoil that baby:)