Yesterday was the eight week mark for our little bundle. By now, his vision begins to clear up and he is recognizing and distinguishing faces. So those first genuine smiles have come in and he's now smiling regularly whenever he sees his mother or father, or just about anyone who gives him the time of day. Obviously, there's little else that is more rewarding as a parent of a newborn. His sleep patterns are settling in slowly, such that he might sleep for 8 hours at a time at night. Newborns cannot typically put themselves to sleep, but he has done so a few times. Usually he just needs to see his mother's face before falling asleep and then he's out for a while.

My wife decided to take a work shift or two here and there. Nothing regular yet, really just a way for her to get out of the house and make a little extra money. She's only taking shifts during times when she knows I'm home. It gives me some time alone with the baby, but also reminds me that I don't have that safety net of Mommy close by to take him if he acts up or if I need a break.

Since that time, I've said to my wife on more than one occasion: "I admire and respect what you have to do all day while home alone with this child." Little angel though he is most of the time, it truly is a full time job caring for a child or chlidren - and we're lucky in that he sleeps for hours each night and is rarely ever inconsolable.

Even eight weeks in, I still feel good about even my own social life. All I really ever do is get together with one or two friends every week or two. Sometimes a bunch of us will get together and play a poker game, which we've still managed to do occasionally. So there really haven't been any issues of frustration such as, "I never get out of the house". If anything, I make sure I give my wife ample opportunity to head out and do what she needs to do to get a breather, but she hasn't needed to take me up on it too often.

The only concern at this point is ensuring we keep his mind engaged and developing. It's a bit early to worry about it too much, as long as he is seeing his parents and given the opportunity to observe things. But we try to make sure we go out for walks, that one of us read to him regularly, that he gets good face time with us, and that he gets "tummy time" to develop those arms and chest, so he grows up to be like Martin.

For sensitive liberals and leftists, German (hrm) slogan Arbeit Mach Frei evokes feelings of anxiety, helplessness and love for democracy. For people like me, it simply means "shut up and do your work." It's not as bad as it sounds.

It seems to me that people in general always need an intellectual motive or reason to perform the most basic of basic tasks. The problem with this behavior is that you'll simply make tedious work even more tedious, because no pseudo-motive in the world can make up for the gritty reality of cleaning drains in bathrooms that haven't been cleaned in months (yes, this is the first thing I did when I arrived at this hellhole known as dormitory).

Why make it harder on yourself? Stop thinking, just do it. Because Arbeit Macht Frei. Listen to the Irish farmers, they know what I'm talking about:

Contrary to city myth, farmers generally do not farm for money, but farm for farming's sake. And when farmers protest, it is probably less about finance than a sense of estrangement, a feeling that they are being ignored by government. But give those restive farmers a high sun and a long day and a dry night and fields that looks like Oklahoma, and then suddenly their cares are over.

All they ask is that they may cut and lay their hay, from dusk to dawn, so that when they finally rest their chin on their steering wheel, their bleary eyes may see fields that are shorn and gold and glowing in Virginia's morning sun.

Of course they do--lousy pay, mountains of bureaucracy, slaving for a European Union empire that cannot decide what its ultimate purpose really is. You might as well get up 6 am in the morning, take on your dirtiest clothes, kiss your wife good bye, and start farming already. A hard day of manly work isn't supposed to be intellectually stimulating. In fact, the less you think, the more you'll enjoy your work.

If you suspect you've been postponing important house work or other forms of basic maintenance labor because you feel you lack the "proper motivation," get your ass off the couch right now and mow your lawn, or any lawn nearby. With a scythe. Now. Because Arbeit sets you free.