The Bean and (the spirit of ) Ozzy
After Ozzy passed away, it was very tough for me to get through and it’s still very hard. But what made it easier was having my daughter. I got to live life through the big blue eyes of an infant. When she was born, the plan was for me to work and for my wife to stay home with the baby. Then, when her maternity leave was up, and she had to go back to work, we’d put the baby, aka, the Bean, into daycare or get a nanny. Unfortunately, I lost my job, when she was about to go back to work. And being there was no way we could afford daycare or a nanny, we needed a Plan B. And that plan was me.I was branded the stay-at-home dad. And I was proud of it. It was the most challenging, exhausting and rewarding time of my life. I took her everywhere with me in New York City. From coffee shops to Baby’s R Us to the swings in Madison Square Park. I changed her. I burped her. I played with her. And I watched her little feet grow.Today my daughter is 17 months old. Wow, it goes so fast they say. And it does. That’s why I’ll be writing it all down. From back then to now. Everyday I’ll be posting the adventures of daddy and the bean. Please enjoy. And learn from my mistakes : )
dontdropthebabyonherhead.com the dirty diaper diary of a stay@home dad
Comments (0) RSS - Posted on December 25, 2009
I couldn’t have asked for a more amazing, “Puppy Chow is Better than Prozac,” book launch party than the one Aldon James and Judy Hamburg hosted for me at the National Arts Club on Gramercy Park. It was an incredible evening. My family, my dear friends, and of course Ozzy were there celebrating with me. Wine and Cheese and Milk bones flowed throughout the evening. When I stood up at the podium to speak I was speechless. It had been quite the journey. And not just from getting control of my manic depression. For getting this book published. Wow, it’s a book in itself.
My sister, Sharon, and her awesome friend, Caryn were selling books as Ozzy and I signed them. I made a stamp of Ozzy’s paw. Being a first-time author, it was so surreal having people actually wait in line for me to sign.
I felt so special that my book was being recognized, in the same club where great authors like Tom Wolfe had spoke years earlier. I remember walking Ozzy around Gramercy Park the night Tom Wolfe was having his release party for “A Man In Full.” I gazed into the window, watching the happy (they looked happy anyway : ) people, their cocktails, the laughter. Wondering, “When will my book get published?” It took 11 years to do it, but I did it. And I thank everybody who stuck by me and my furry little (now 110lbs) guy along the way.
