A Lovely Greeting Card

Our friend Heather is having her baby shower tomorrow afternoon. She and her boyfriend Adam are expecting a little girl, Teagan Jade, within the next 3-4 weeks. Tonight, my wife and I found the card we are going to give with our present. It reads as follows:

Outside:
SOMEDAY, she'll be a famous pianist
or a high school science teacher.
She'll settle down, marry, have a couple of kids.
Maybe she won't

SOMEDAY, she'll help millions of people
all over the world.
Or maybe she'll travel,
send letters from Africa
or phone you from Rome.
SOMEDAY, she'll be a strong,
confident woman...

Inside:
...but you'll always remember
the first time
you held her in your arms.

SOMEDAY, she'll have
her own hopes and dreams,
not knowing that once upon
a quiet time, you closed your eyes
and dreamed
to have her in your life.

I instantly started crying. Lennon climbed up the cart to hug me. I knew this was "the card".

I didn't get to hold Lennon until the morning after she was born. She was crying in the NICU. Jessi and I were scrubbing in. There were 20 other babies crying in the room with her. Although I had never heard her cry before, I recognized my baby. I told Jessi, "That's Lennon". When we walked into the room, I walked up to her isolette, leaned over, and said, "It's OK, daddy's here". She turned to me and stopped crying. It was the happiest moment of my life. It was more than anything I could have ever imagined.

Sure, sometimes parenting is hard as hell. Sometimes she can be a pain in the ass(I hate to say it...but it's true). But there are times when it's the easiest thing I have ever done. She loves dancing and singing. She howls like a Wild Thing. She is the greatest thing I have ever done.

Heather...Adam...Congratulations. Enjoy this time. Be sure to teach her what is important to you. Communicate with each other. Play fair, and have fun.