Unflinching and uncompromising, tough and talented, Shane McKenzie stands at the forefront of the next generation of horror writers.

—Bentley Little

Wednesday, February 2, 2011

It's a Girl!

Just found out yesterday that me and my wife are having a little girl. I just can't believe it. A daughter. I have a daughter. I'm going to be a father.

It's something I've wanted for a long time, and now that it's almost here, it doesn't feel real. I feel like it's happening to someone else. But when we were at the doctor's office and I was staring up at the screen while the sonographer did the ultrasound, watching my daughter move around and twitch inside of my wife's stomach, I really felt it. That I am a father now. The most amazing feeling I've ever felt.

Maxine Kim McKenzie. That's my baby girl. Mighty Max!

I can't wait to meet her. It's a weird feeling to miss someone  you've never met, but that 's exactly what I'm feeling. I want to hold her so bad. I want to read to her. I want to be dumb and silly and make her laugh. I'm so damn excited right now, I can hardly contain myself. And I've never felt more motivated before. I'm writing with new inspiration. Those days when I'm feeling out of it and don't want to do anything, I just remember that ultrasound, and it lights a fire under my ass. I have to make my family proud. I have to make sure they are taken care of and happy. I should never be doing nothing. I don't have that privelege anymore.

And I can feel the inner pit bull coming out. I have to protect them. My girls. I can't ever let anything happen to them. If some shit goes down, I need to be able to handle it. Which is why I'm taking my Muay Thai training so seriously. Which is why I'm lifting weights every goddamn day, even when I don't want to. They need me to be strong, or at least that's how I feel.

So, everything is about to change for me. But I welcome it. I've been waiting for this my entire life. I couldn't be happier.

4 comments:

  1. Beautiful post, Shane. Congratulations. I need to buy you a beer sometime.

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  2. Congrats on Mighty Max, bro! And I agree. Protect your ladies.

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  3. Thanks fellas. I'm already a proud daddy. WHC is gonna be a big celebration! Y'all will get to meet my wife, and by then, she'll be ready to bust.

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  4. Wow. See? That's how a papa is supposed to feel!

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