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Saying Good-bye to Youth

By Jay Sauls

Every parent knows that with children come sacrifices. I thought they began after the baby was born. When I came home from work to find my "office" being packed and boxed, I experienced the first casualty of my previous life. Down went my posters, knick-knacks and sports paraphernalia. Up went Care Bears, Precious Moments and a crib. I walked my adolescence to the door, waved good-bye and watched the last of my old friends disappear into the past.

I swooned slightly as I realized I was now definitely an adult. "Good grief, I'm a grown up! How did this happen?" I cried to myself. One by one the remnants of my youth were crammed into packages that previously entertained my younger flights of fantasy. Old television, computer and stereo boxes were stuffed with everything that was me and taken to their last place of rest – the attic.

Before the remnants of my previous carefree world were hefted into knick-knack never-never land, I palmed a shot glass from the collection. In reality, it was a meaningless act, but it was a final connection to the world that now was encased in cardboard containers.

Several days later, I came home from work to find my wife putting the finishing touches on the nursery. The cluttered walls and shelves that were once my second home were now clean and repainted. The walls were now a soft pastel blue and the shelves glossy white. A rocking chair sat where my golf clubs used to reside. In three days my world had changed. I was now staring into an alternate universe.

"How do you like it?" My wife asked the question for the second time. The first time she asked I was busy mentally replacing my lost artifacts. "Hmm? Oh, fine. It looks great!" I forced a smile. I wanted to beg, "Can I please put up at least one of my posters?" but knew well enough not to ask.

My wife left to wash up as I lingered in the room that would be soon shelter my son or daughter. We didn't know the sex and wouldn't until the day he or she was born. To cover our bets, the room was decorated in bright pastels and various stuffed animals. To personalize the room, we figured we could add lace if the baby was a girl or my collection of NASCAR race cars if it was a boy! I fingered the soft baby blankets that lay gently folded in the corners of the crib. A monitor was already in place, waiting for its first assignment to begin.

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