Though Asheville drivers are experts at testing it, my temper usually remains on a fairly even keel. I’ve become more aware of it lately, though, as L’s birthday approaches.

The thought that a child is going to be watching every move I make just as I watched every move my father made is enough to soothe tempers when idiots individuals don’t know how to make a left turn at a traffic light, a common occurrence in this small city.

I can picture the individual I want to be, the father I want to be, and mold myself to it, stripping away the one or two bad habits I might have (really — no more than that), in order to produce an ideal of fatherhood. In all seriousness, there’s nothing like the thought of having your own child strapped into a car seat in the back to keep check temper in check.