Fatherhood, Crytocurrencies & the Thrill of the Unknown

''I'm going to be a father. ''

I've been repeating this to myself everyday for the past two months. Somehow, the idea just won't stick, I have to keep reminding myself. There is something so surreal about the whole concept of life-in-the-making, the creation of a completely new being. And the weirdest part of it: I contributed to create it.

I’m a 27 years old married man from Ottawa, Canada, I have a good job in engineering, my wife and I are healthy, we have a cute little blue house with a decent mortgage, we have a dog and two cats, we try to travel as much as we can, we like wine & cheese nights and S’mores on the fire pit in the backyard. Life is good, by all standards. I guess we were just like most couples in a financially and emotionally stable situation when we started talking about having a baby. I mean, isn’t it how we’ve always been shown how it’s supposed to be? Graduate, get a job, get a dog, get married, have kids, raise them, give them the tools and opportunities so that they can do the same thing later on. The circle of life.

I have three siblings. The two older ones, brother and sister, they are a few steps ahead of me. They each have two kids, so I have four awesome little nieces and nephew. And I do mean it, these kids really are incredibly awesome. We’re a close family, we see each other all the time, so I’m already familiar with diaper-changing, mandatory nap-naps, food being thrown on the floor, puke on the shirt, you name it. I’ve seen first-hand how much work that is, I was well aware of the implications of having a child, how hard it can be, how life changing it is. But I also got to understand how rewarding it is to witness them growing up and becoming a person with a mind of their own, with talents and flaws and frustrations and joys.

So yeah, I really knew I was ready for it too when we had that discussion my wife and I. I have to admit, I figured it could also take a while for it to happen, you don’t get magically pregnant because you decide to. Some couples have to try for months, even years. Hell, my sister had to go through an in-vitro fertilisation program for both her kids. It’s scary how long and frustrating it can be for so many people. With that in mind (or at least that’s what was in MY mind), you will understand my surprise when my wife told me she was pregnant within only two weeks of trying.

Holy. Shit. Really? Welcome to fatherhood, buddy!

As ready as I thought I was, now I feel a bit scared. ''I'm going to be a father. '' That’s like a forever thing, uh? No going back! Not that I would, don’t get me wrong, but the idea of something being permanent, that’s intense. It gives you a whole new perspective on the future. From now on, every decision we take, everything we do, we have to think about the fact that our family is not just two adults anymore. Sometimes I ask myself ‘’Will we be good parents? Can we do this? Are we ready?’’. We went to a preliminary meeting at the Birth Center for a group presentation with a midwife. There was a couple there, they must have been 17, 18 at the most. The girl was already super pregnant, and the boy, just a kid really, he was holding their first child, a sweet little baby girl not a year-old yet. And he was holding her so nicely, whispering soothing words in her ear, kissing her forehead. I remember thinking: That kid looks like hell of a good father. I guess you can’t just be ready for fatherhood. It just comes when it comes, and you have to choose to embrace it and let it make you a better man.

So yes, I’m scared, but sweet baby Jesus am I excited, too! In a near future, there will be a little piece of me walking and tumbling around, falling now and then but getting back up with my help if needed. I’m prepared to love more than I ever loved before, to be scared, to be nervous, to be proud and to be overjoyed. It will be a hell of a ride, the biggest rollercoaster of my life, and I’m fine with that. From this day on, my wife and I are on uncharted territories. We’ve never been here before, everyday is a new discovery. We learn together, and we will keep learning with our child. It’s new, it’s unknown, it’s scary, but it is THRILLING.

By the way, I already started working on my dad jokes. My wife is going nuts.

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I’m now going to totally change subject, but I do believe that it is still quite fitting with what I’ve been writing. Cryptocurrencies. There is a reason why I chose to create an account on Steemit and to publish a story here. I’ve been fascinated with the world of alternative currencies for quite a while now. Actually, another ‘’steemiditor’’ or ‘’steemer’’ (how are posters called here?) by the name of cob introduced me to this whole world about two years ago. He’s really a hardcore defendant of the blockchain and has been involved with it for years now. Initially, I was following the market capitalization of the different cryptos and the fluctuations in value. I witnessed the various up and downs of BTC. I remember seeing it at something like $170 USD. Back then, I thought ‘’Damn maybe I didn’t miss the boat, maybe I should really invest in this thing now’’. The timing was all wrong though. I had created a verified account at Vault of Satoshi around Christmas, they closed down shortly after, then the BTC kept declining in value through January but I just didn’t get around to creating an account on some other cryptocurrency trading website. Long story short, I was interested, didn’t act accordingly at the right time, figured I had missed my chance and forgot about it for a good while.

However, now things are different. Remember the thing I said about getting a new perspective on life when you know you’re going to be a parent? The beautiful thing about it is that it applies to other things too. I took my cryptocurrency thoughts out of the moth balls and I’m giving it another shot. There is so much potential there, possibly a chance to prepare something great for my kid.

The blockchain is most likely one of the best thing that happened in the last few years. It’s like the 1990’s Internet. Internet opened us to a world of possibilities and peer-to-peer exchange. No more boundaries. A revolution in decentralization, to a certain extent. With the blockchain, it’s a whole new level of decentralization that is at our doorstep. I’m interested. I want to be part of it.

So as I’m learning about it, everyday is a new discovery. And I guess that we can learn together. It’s new, it’s unknown, sometimes a bit scary, but it is THRILLING, too.

TL;DR: Gonna be a dad, Steemit looks neat, Hail Hydra.