Familyhood (19 page)

But let's be honest: there's nothing really to
anything.
When held up to the light,
nothing's
that terrific. Most of what we enjoy is enjoyable only because we declare it so. The real enjoyment is in the pointing out and the sharing. And that's what makes children indispensable: we need their excitement. Even when they
don't
like something, they dislike it with such gusto that everything is still better because of them. And we're the ones who reap the fruit. It's their enthusiasm we live off. It replenishes us. Rejuvenates us. Consoles us. Without children, life just bounces back duller. Nobody likes a quiet carnival.

AS I LAY AWAKE
at night, listening to the whir and hum of my house, staring at the glow of all the electronic twinkling and downloading and charging, I charted my plan of action for the boys' return: the second they come through that door, I resolved, I'm going to hug them until they can't breathe and then hug them a little more.

Not for them, mind you; for me. Entirely for me.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

Many people must be thanked
for making this book a reality.

First of all, a big thank-you to Rob Weisbach—to whom I will be very careful what I say in the future. Apparently if you tell Rob you'd like to maybe, possibly, conceivably someday consider writing a book, it ends up there's a book.

An enormous, grateful, and heartfelt “where would I be without you” thank-you to my genius friend Jonathan Shapiro, he of the limitless talent and insight. It turns out it's a good thing we sit and talk about our kids—look what happens.

To Mr. Lenny Shapiro, whose enthusiasm for the first books encouraged the idea of doing this one.

To Ellen Archer, Elisabeth Dyssegaard, Gretchen Young, and all the fine people at Hyperion who made this too darn easy and pleasant.

To Peter Safran for keeping all the trains running.

To Peter Benedek, who sometimes has some darn good ideas, and who
always
operates with remarkable class and dignity.

To Katie Moeller for keeping track and remembering everything—all under a loudly ticking clock.

To my mother and father and sisters—not only for being such a great family but also because they let me talk about them in public like this and have never once—as of this writing—threatened legal action.

And, as ever, thank you thank you thank you to Paula, Ezra, and Leon for not only inspiring a book, but also being so understanding when I was so busy writing it. (Oh yeah—and also for making my life so magical and complete. That's very nice too.)

About the Author

Emmy and Golden Globe-nominated actor, writer, and stand-up comedian
Paul Reiser
has appeared in many films and television shows, including co-creating and starring in the critically acclaimed NBC series
Mad About You
and
The Paul Reiser Show
. He is the author of the
New York Times
bestsellers
Couplehood
and the follow-up,
Babyhood
. He lives in Los Angeles with his wife and two children.

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