Today is Josh Marshall’s birthday, and he has a sweet post and photo up about it and showing him and his son. He says:

I don’t like it when people project their own experiences into a template for other peoples lives. But speaking for myself I do not think I could feel complete as a person, fully accept this boundedness as a person, or fully know what it was to be one without the turned-upside-down experience I’m having as a father. In a few months my wife is going to give birth to our second son. So I’m looking forward to more of this.

My birthday is tomorrow (with a significantly larger number attached to it than his), and I’m less shy about using my experiences as a springboard toward understanding the world. But I’ll completely agree with Josh that having, raising, loving and living with my three sons – Biggest Guy, Middle Guy, and Littlest Guy – has changed me more than anything else I have ever done and far for the better.

I’m blessed in a lot of ways; interesting work, some measure of financial security, the love of TG and our friends and family. I don’t think I’d have any of it if my sons hadn’t made me into a man.