Hippocrates In San Diego

Additions and Losses

It’s been a whirlwind of a time these last 7-1/2 weeks, with a constant 24-hour cycle of baby care that has kept us poorly rested, poorly fed, and utterly, blindingly happy since January 25. I can’t say I’ve ever had a better experience, despite the frequently desperate and all-consuming fatigue, the frustration when he’s crying for no apparent reason, the inability to get out of the house in under thirty minutes…

On top of getting to know our son, and learning all there is to learn about taking care of him, I’ve been busy trying to take care of myself a little bit — trying to lose the weight I gained over the last couple years since starting this job, and trying to make better choices about my food and exercise habits. The food part has been a collective effort — My wife, N., and my sister, M., are also working on their health habits and as a household we’ve decided to use Weight Watchers to try to shed some weight in a disciplined way. Honestly, I wasn’t terribly excited about the idea at first, but I’ve been seeing results (as have the others) so that has been some well-received positive reinforcement for me. Although I haven’t really gotten back into running, M. introduced me to her yoga class, and I’ve been going a couple times each week. An hour-long class is more or less equivalent to a 3 mile run, in terms of effort, so it’s been a decent amount of exercise to start off with. I’m actually enjoying the yoga classes quite a bit and I expect to keep going for the long term. The classes are certainly more motivating than getting out for a hilly, uncomfortable 3 mile slog of a run (perhaps only because of their novelty).

Meanwhile N. and I have been on family leave together since just before C. was born, and when I return to work at the start of next week, I’ll have been away for 10 weeks. I can’t tell you how fantastic it has been… yes, being a new parent is tough but there’s so much more reward than pain in it. This stands in stark contrast to my work life, which I have to say is not so fantastic in the reward-to-pain ratio. I enjoy my job, but only once I’m there doing it — being away from work is far, far better.