My Guy

Happy Birthday Cowboy!

It was about 9 years ago I had the bright idea to get married. Again. Turns out it really was a bright idea. And along with that bright idea came the idea to have a child. Again. None of this means a whole lot except that, 6 years ago today, at the age of 50, I became a dad again.

What's truly surprising in all of that is the joy that has come with being a dad again. Fatherhood in one's fifties is not without consequences: We played tennis and baseball and rode bikes a few weeks back and my knee has still not fully recovered.  Needless to say I'm a bit more interested in his intellectual development than his athletic prowess, although it turns out he is pretty darn good in both endeavors.

People say having a young child at home keeps you young at heart. So far, I can't attest to that. A lot of time it just makes me feel old and inflexible. I can say this, though: Having a young child at home allows me to realize just how precious life is; just how critically important and difficult it is to raise a child well; just how much joy there can be in the world. And to that last point, having a young child child at home does make me realize both how crazy and dangerous the world around us can be and, at the same time, just how hard we should strive to make the world a place of lasting peace and joy. God only knows there were many years when the thought of having a child at home at my age seemed impossible in my lifetime. Perhaps the impossible thought of humans living in peace and dedicating themselves to caring for one another will be disproved as well-- in Evan's lifetime if not in mine.

I don't know what the future holds for my guy. I can only poor in my heart and hope for the best. I will always be his dad. And I will always be happy and so very grateful that he showed up when he did. Happy Birthday, Ev.