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“Every block of stone has a statue inside it and it is the task of the sculptor to discover it.”

-Michelangelo

This one is dedicated to my son, Elliot Gardner Swindell. He was just born a few weeks ago and I love him. He’s very sweet and I can’t wait to see what kind of person he grows up to be. I can talk about his name, though. We wanted his name to blend nature and elegance. Elliot has a few different meanings depending on the historical/religious context, but we just thought it sounded classy. Elly/Ellie (and now maybe Eli) is also a family name, and we can call him Elliot Swindelliot if we’re feeling saucy. Gardner mostly means gardener. It sounded a bit exotic at first, but we warmed up to it quickly, and gardening is a staple activity in our family so it’s not only naturey but also sentimental. When we were tossing the name around we realized it had significance with Arizona Wildcats basketball; Sean Elliott and Jason Gardner are two of the greatest Wildcats of all time. I’m a lifelong U of A fan, and our first date was to a Wildcats basketball game. That was the first name-related serendipity, but it wouldn’t be the last. The initials EGS can be pronounced as “Eegees” (or nickname EG); which is another pillar of Tucson and a family favorite. His initials are also “eggs” just like mine are “beans.” What dish serves eggs and beans together? Huevos Rancheros; a staple cuisine of southern Arizona. And don’t forget about the Full English Breakfast that Felicia and I had one time in London. Full English Breakfast abbreviated is FEB. F.E.B., as in FElicia Brian. Is that a coincidence? Did Jeffrey Epstein kill himself? Can jet fuel melt steel beams?? This name flew out of Pandora’s box; putting it back was not an option.

It was a good year for the family. The kids have grown a lot, physically and otherwise. Natalie completed her first year of Toddler Group. She still prefers her mom and dad but she’s warming up to playing with other kids whenever they’re around. We bought memberships to the children’s museum and zoo while we wintered in Tucson. At first she was overwhelmed by the big new places but it wasn’t long before she was running to her favorite spots as soon as we got inside. Potty training throughout all of that was its own adventure. Felicia and I have embraced our roles in this demanding stage of life, and that’s ok. There’s nothing wrong with being nominated for best supporting actor! 

The surge of productive energy that you get when you’re expecting a baby is called nesting. For mothers this is actually a physiological/hormonal thing. As a father, I find the sense of urgency to be contagious. We mostly channeled the energy into baby-related tasks like setting up the nursery and prepping meals, but the surge didn’t fade after the big things were taken care of, so we attacked the backlog. Felicia was adamant that the cars had to be cleaned inside and out, and the floor underneath the couch (it’s a 3 piece sectional so PITA to move) had to be spotless as well. My biggest extracurricular achievement was planning our estate. Now we have life insurance, wills, and even a family trust. Contemplating your own death while bringing a new life into the world is pretty heavy, but I do have some peace of mind knowing that my family will be taken care of if I’m not around.

I also tackled some gardening projects that I’ve been putting off; our new raspberry patch is immediately thriving, blueberries are established and producing, and there’s a new prototype strawberry bed in the greenhouse. Our backyard also has a cherry tree and blackberry bushes, and there are apple trees in our neighborhood. Don’t sleep on pie season. Shoutout to the bamboo that I planted a few years ago too, and also to the birds that nested in my greenhouse.

We nested with Natalie too. I’ve been a stay-at-home dad her whole life, so being apart from us for a couple days for Elliot’s birth was a big deal. We had my buddy Phil babysit a few times so they could get used to each other before the big show. She was devastated the first few times that we left her, but by the time we were ready to meet baby brother she was happy to send us off. A new sibling can be really hard for toddlers, so we wanted to celebrate the chapter of our lives when she was our only child. We took her on some special trips to the Seattle zoo, aquarium, and children's museums. She also enjoyed riding the ferryboat on a daytrip to Bainbridge Island. Now that Elliot’s here and occupying a lot of mom’s attention, Natalie and I are closer than ever. Maybe a little too close. I’m exhausted most nights after I finally get her into bed, then I get in my feelings wishing I was more patient and present with her throughout the day. We would benefit from a bigger village for childcare, but I’m also extremely independent and I have separation anxiety, so that’s easier said than done. I think my hands will be forced this year because I don’t know how I’m gonna manage a toddler AND a baby after Felicia’s maternity leave ends.

On the Game Development front I continued working on Wage War. I’ve got six demo levels that can be played solo or up to four-player co-op. I’m pretty proud of what I’ve delivered so far and I’m confident in the roadmap ahead, although I haven’t touched the project in a few months because it’s been a busy summer. I poured my scarce free time into Hogwarts Legacy and The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom. Running through digital Hogwarts was pretty amazing. My character was a 15 year old Natalie, who was sorted into Ravenclaw. Tears of the Kingdom is my game of the year. I spent maybe 50-100 hours on each game, but I could easily spend way more in Hyrule.

My birthday was a doozy. My in-laws were in town helping with Elliot so I had a little extra time on my hands. I spent most of the week mourning the Pac-12 conference. I think I’ll be unhappy with college sports for at least a few years, but maybe that will be good to untether my emotional wellbeing from games that I don’t control. Anyway, I expect conference realignment to come full circle in about 20 years when the linear TV money dries up and universities grow weary of all the travel expenses. Thankfully my birthday had some upside too. The six of us feasted on lunch, dinner, and dessert in my honor. I requested a Key Lime pie from Felicia, and obviously she knocked it out of the park. I also got to try jumbo paddleboarding. It’s an enormous standup paddle board that fits eight people. It was a fun bonding experience (the best part was reenacting scenes from Titanic) and we got to swim in Lake Washington while watching the Blue Angels Seafair air show.

TGIB