Becoming A Father

At the tender age of 40, I'm going to become a father. Around the 18th of January 2008 is the due date. 7 weeks or so to go. I am awash with emotions, the predominate one being elation. WTF!
From my late teens to early thirties I lived the devil may care life. It's been great. From early on I've been a big fan of The Doors and as Jim Morrison once asked: "Did you have a good life when you died, enough to base a movie one?". I kept that with me and always asked, would that be good in a movie? From failure to great success I've run the gamut of highs and lows in my life to date, I've kissed girls AND boys, got lost (deliberately sometimes), been found, seen the savage beauty of mountain top from other peaks, clear streams, wildlife, lowlife and all kinds of animals that populate the earth.
Because my dad was in the UN we traveled a lot too from Bangladesh to Israel and some places in between. I've seen the Taj Mahal and the Great Pyramids, the Dead Sea and Jerusalem. I have an affinity for both Arabs and Jews, Sikhs and Muslims. I can ask "How are you?" in 17 different languages. Not bad for boy from an island on the westernmost part of Europe, Ireland.So why am I telling you all this? It's not to boast but to let you know what a great life I've had.
So now the wheel turns and my baby boy Samuel is about to introduced to this world. For a while he will be completely helpless and dependent on us and he will be trying desperately to take in all the information around him and we'll be doing our best to give him all the knowledge he needs! What an exciting time.
Recently, I've just finished painting his room, putting up shelves and assembling his cot and crib. It's really coming together and really bringing it home. Now I see more clearly what other fathers have told me; "You have no idea what you're in for until it happens!". Well, I'm as ready as I can be at this time with only 2 weeks to. I'll keep you all posted and I promise to put up pics. :)