Hello! This is Jason.

As many of my co-workers already know, my wife is six months pregnant. This is something we have wanted for a while and decided there is no better time than now, so here we are!

With becoming a parent we are in for many life changes. Some of them we can predict, but maybe many changes we haven’t even thought about yet. For example, both of us will keep working after the baby is born. If my wife needs to work late or vice-versa, the other will have to make a plan to pick up our child from daycare. Maybe the same will happen as they get older with after school activities. I’m not sure how that works in Japan, so I have a lot to learn.

Something else for us to think about is how this will affect our social life with friends. Before I could often meet friends and go do whatever, but now I have a new responsibility to my child. If we are going to go to the park or just hangout, maybe I can bring the child along with me if my friends don’t mind, but if we are going to a bar to watch bands play, it’s not an appropriate place to bring a child and it’s way too loud. Sometimes maybe I can go, if my wife can stay home and watch the child, but I need to give and take with this. Sometimes maybe Haruka wants to go out with her friends, so I need to stay home with the child. I’m fine with this. Hopefully we can work out a plan.

Besides social things there is so much I don’t know about raising a child. I have no clue how to change a diaper. Surely I will learn, but it’s these very simple things I have no clue about. So many do’s and don’ts. I think I know more about raising a puppy than a child. If it means anything, I’ve had a few dogs in my life and they’ve all lived well into old age before dying of natural causes. ;D

To keep this short, I am very excited about becoming a parent. I feel it is the logical next chapter in my life, which brings on a lot of new experiences. Sure not all of them will be fun and some may be very challenging, but I’m excited to take them all on in this next chapter of my life.