In the months before my son was born last year, I worried having two kids would reduce my time for creativity even more than one had. To combat what I felt was a loss of creativity, I decided to write a haiku every night. In my mind, it was Minimum Viable Creativity. Before we went from a family of three to a family of four, the haiku were about TV or food or the like, but when my son was born, he was the subject the first night, and the second, and before I knew it, the nightly haiku was now a nightly parenting haiku – or a haidad. It turns out the nightly parenting haiku is not only Minimum Viable Creativity, but also an opportunity to journal milestones every night without having to figure out what to say. Journaling is easier when it’s 17 syllables a day.
Here is the first year of haidad, all in one place. Some of these were originally posted with an accompanying picture, but, um, I took the pictures off for publication here.
2/2
This is my baby
Callum, born today at 2.
Mom and babe are good
2/3
Totally forgot
How to care for a newborn.
Swaddle game rusty.
2/4
If you need a day
Bed in a pinch, you can use
A laundry basket.
Grace taught us that one
When we needed one for her,
But she fit better.
2/5
Only 3 days old
Already louder than his
Sister ever was.
2/6
Not even a week
And I’ve already gotten
His poop on my clothes.
2/7
This little dude has
Now woken up my daughter
Four times in three days.
2/8
I hope I never
Forget the faces this kid
Makes at six days old
2/9
We made it a week
The last seven days a blur
Time marked by diapers.
2/10
A once beloved
Toy jettisoned for something
New is heartbreaking.
2/11
My sleepy little
Boy is starting to wake up.
It’s gonna get late.
2/12
He gained weight back so
Fast, we don’t have to go back
For his two week check.
2/13
I asked, “Hey, bud, can
You stop kicking the seat?” “But
My feet want to dance.”
2/14
Zero degrees and
My nutso daughter wanted
To go to the park.
