Introductions...Jay Love

My oldest son, my first born child, my little buddy, pain in my behind. Jaiden (pronounced Jay-den), was born a little over ten years ago and can still remember him sliding out of my wife sensing the world for the first time. I love all my kids but there is a special place in your heart for the first one, when its new you feel like there's nothing this one won't be able to do.

I secretly hoped that each one of my children was one of those super genius kids. Like the kind that can read at one and go on to write papers on nuclear physics at five. Well that did not happen! My kids are smart and sweet but at this point they haven't shown their genius.

Jaiden was named for an episode of Star Trek: Next Generation called "Thine Own Self." Mr. Data, the android, was damaged on this strange planet and lost his memory. The people in the town he wandered into called him Jaiden. Up to that point I had not ever heard that name before and I thought it sounded cool. Apparently so did a bunch of other people. Will Smith, for one.

Jaiden is a sweet guy, sensitive, and creative always drawing pictures and writing stories and such. He has a bit of a dramatic streak, always overreacting to things and hamming it up for an audience.

We're at that stage where he is almost to the point of being interesting to me. I don't say this unkindly but kids, while cute and fun can be really boring to talk to. Its always, "What 'cha doin?" Even though they can clearly see what you're doing? Or they'll tell you some hilarious story that goes absolutely nowhere. You just smile and nod, maybe throw out a "bless his heart" every now and again. But generally speaking as conversationalists go they leave alot to be desired.

Jaiden's middle name is Hope, at one time we flirted with "Loving" as an alternate but Hope won out. It comes from a series books I read about a man 700 years in the future who was able to consolidate power in the solar system and run an enlightened dictatorship. Its called Bio of a Space Tyrant. That may sound a little ominous, but the books are a great read and the character of Hope was a smart and honorable man. I wanted that kind of power and spirit in my first born's name.