This is where I have been the last few weeks. This is my son, Quinn Kristopher Murphy, born on April 26. He was born a mack track like 9 lbs 4oz and is now already up to 10 lbs. He’s a hoss and I already have visions of him starting at fullback for Notre Dame (and look that name; Notre Dame is where he belongs) and maybe parlaying that into a WrestleMania appearance, or at minimum, being able to bench press slightly more than the bar, unlike his old man. To be fair, that’s how big his waif-ish mother was when she was born, so it’s not likely.

He is a pretty quiet baby, overall, but when he gets mad, look the fuck out. There have been several times where I could say things like “this is the literally the angriest he’s ever been,” because it is true. But also, there have been times where he smiled that baby smile of his and suddenly you knew he was as content as he will ever be. No world to weigh him down, no negative stimuli to distract him. Just unadulterated bliss. It is the beauty of being ten days old. You have so much to learn and so much to experience, and yet there are real legit unimpeachable firsts. As you age, you say things like “I have never seen something so awesome (or so terrible or whatever) in my whole life” but there is literally no way to prove that. There may have been a time you got pinched by your hyperactive sister when you were ten days old where you were the angriest you will ever be. Or maybe the first time you felt a fleece puppy dog, you had never been or will never be happier than you are that that moment. It is why children can be so awesome, they have no idea how little life will start to get to them if they let it.

So, I have decided to take this time to behave slightly infantile. I had planned on coming back and recapping all the things I missed, and there have been a lot, but instead I will look directly towards the future. I am going to pretend like today is the first day I have ever written anything (and I’m sure some of you reading this will take that as gospel. Shut up, I’m rusty) and this is the first day I have ever experienced the joy of music and art. While this means I don’t get to talk about cool things I may have missed, it also means I will no longer dwell. I hope to treat all things in the future with the enthusiasm of someone experiencing things for the first time. A future that will have more firsts and, most importantly, more things I will treat with the joy and/or pain of firsts. So hooray for fresh starts and renewed enthusiasms! I will see you all tomorrow with a preview of a show for which I have never been more excited.