A 17-hour adventure has come to a close and a precious boy named Jericho James has entered the world- and all of our hearts.
My wonderful girlfriend’s daughter and fiancé were having a child; and when the call came Monday night that he may be on his way we headed to the hospital to be with them. There we would remain for many, many…many hours.
This courageous young woman was a champ the entire way through and the time finally arrived at 7:25pm yesterday when her little bundle of joy made his mark on all of our lives.
There we all stood- family and friends- to meet him and congratulate the happy couple.
During the process- amid all of the talk, picture taking, and restlessness- I had a thought:
Pregnancy is not as simple as the creation of a baby and nothing more; it is the creation of two separate yet eternally-connected lives.
On the one side is the child- born with all of the dreams, hopes, and endless possibilities that existence has to offer.
On the other side is the evolution of girl to woman- no longer living just for herself, but a matured, confident, and selfless mother entrusted with the safety of another being from this day on.
Between them is all of the love and light of a universe comprised of all that has come before, all that is, and all that is yet to be.
That symbiotic relationship demands respect and admiration because each of us began existence in exactly the same way. It is this fact of life that binds us all and proves that we are not so different from each other.
Some look upon children as an empty cup, waiting to be filled with life’s experiences; but I think that adults become empty over time from the stress of the daily grind and from our own fears and failings.
We never truly know just how empty we were until our souls are refilled by the laughter of a newborn child.
Sometimes it makes me wonder who truly is the teacher- the adult or the child? 😉